Toyota workers ready to resume work but won’t sign undertaking

Toyota Kirloskar Employees Union (TKMEU) on Saturday said they were ready to resume work on March 24 but would not sign any undertaking as desired by the company, which has agreed to lift the lock-out at its two plants in Bidadi following the state government’s conciliatory efforts.

“Management has decided to lift the lockout from March 24, but they have put some conditions and said we will have to give an undertaking. We are ready to resume work but won’t give any undertaking,” TKMEU President Prasanna Kumar said after its general body meeting. Announcing its decision to lift the lockout implemented on March 16, Toyota Kirloskar Motor in a statement on Thursday had said, “Consequent to our decision, the team members are welcome to resume work with effect from March 24 after signing a simple undertaking on good conduct.”

Toyota Kirloskar Motor had on March 16 declared a lockout following the failure of talks between the management and the union on wage negotiation.  The union is demanding a wage hike of Rs 4,000 as against Rs 3,050 proposed by the management. Asked about nature of the undertaking the company was insisting on, Kumar said: “The conditions are illegal. It sounds as though we should agree to the legitimacy of the lockout and agree to the notice they had issued.”