General Motor stopped selling cars in India in 2017 after years of low sales but its complete exit from the market has been struggling with workers and failure to find a buyer for a plant in the Maharashtra after talks with China's Great Wall Motor collapsed last year, according to news agency Reuters.
The workers allege illegal termination after the company decided to exit , which have been locked in legal battles since 2021. The latest filing signals an escalation in the dispute as workers accuse GM's India unit and its executives, including CEO Mary Barra, of failing to follow court orders, reported Reuters.
In a filing to the High Court of Bombay dated January 16, the General Motors Employees Union of 1,086 factory workers states the company has failed to pay them compensatory wages of 50% of their monthly salary starting April last year, as ordered by a local industrial court while it continues to hear the dispute, the documents show.
.In its earlier court filings, it has said the industrial court acted beyond its power in ordering the compensation. The company has previously said it has tried to settle the issue amicably and has offered workers a generous severance package.
The union disagreed, and said GM continues to "blatantly violate" the industrial court's order by not paying the workers a single cent. In its latest filing, the union urged the court to hold the company and its executives in contempt, and punish them with imprisonment.
The lawsuit is likely to be heard in the coming days.
(inputs from Reuters)
