Workers strike at Toyota factory in Bidadi industrial area

On 10 November 2020, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd declared a lockout at its two plants in Bidadi industrial area after union members sat on strike in the factory premises for four days to protest the suspension of a worker. As a result, 39 members of the workers’ union for the car manufacturer have been suspended.
The union and management had engaged in talks to settle the dispute. As the union and its management were in a deadlock over the strike and the lockout following the suspension of 40 workers, the state government intervened, holding crisis talks. The following Tuesday, Karnataka state government banned the workers’ strike at Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s Bidadi plant and directed the management to lift the lockout so that production could resume soon.
The company offered to lift the lockout “subject to an assurance by the union that its member-workers will maintain normalcy and cordial relations in the factory to resume operations”, a conditional offer that was yet to be accepted by the union. Meanwhile, the 40 workers remained suspended.