With their dream of permanent employment receding, the Maruti Suzuki workers protested. As many as 148 workers were tried in court: 117 of them were acquitted; 13 leaders of the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union, recognised only in 2011, were sentenced to life imprisonment and another 18 to five years. These workers were hired as temporary workers and paid salaries far below those of permanent workers even though their work was the same. Maruti Suzuki was, in effect, violating the principle of equal pay for equal work. Angry, the non-permanent workers constituted themselves into the Maruti Suzuki Asthai Mazdoor Sangh, with the Sangharsh Committee as their adviser.

Source: The Hindu February 24, 2026 09:21 UTC