Toyota Halts Operations Again As Union Strike Continues

Toyota Motor Corp again halted operations at its car plant from Monday, November 23, as the majority of members of its workers’ union continued a sit-in strike, the automaker said. Both the Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) factories in the industrial hub of Bidadi, Karnataka, had declared a ‘lock out’ on November 10 after the union went on strike, saying that their demand to withdraw the suspension of a worker was not met.

The local state government’s labour department had prohibited the strike by the workmen, as well as the legal lock out declared by the management from Nov. 19 and directed operations to resume, a spokesperson for the automaker’s India unit said on Tuesday. Even after the lock out was lifted by TKM, only a few team members have reported to work, the company said.

“For plant operations to run smoothly and effectively, a minimum workforce of 90% in each shift is required. In view of the current situation, it is not viable to carry on with manufacturing activity.”