Bombay High Court upholds directive asking General Motors to pay 50% salary

Bombay High Court upholds directive asking General Motors to pay 50% salary

The Bombay High Court has upheld the Pune Industrial Courts directive to the US carmaker to pay 50% salary to the employees granting major relief to over 1,000 protesting workers of General Motors India plant in Talegaon, Pune.

The workers had claimed that they were illegally retrenched on July 12, 2021, without the permission of the Government of Maharashtra.

A 50% salary was ordered from April 7, 2022 till the final decision of the case by the Pune Industrial Court. The said order was challenged in the Bombay High Court on behalf of the company.

The ruling this week is likely to stretch an already protracted battle between the workers and the company.

General Motors had earlier argued that state authorities failed to consider the pressing need for closure while rejecting the application for closure of the car manufacturing unit. The company also argued that it can't be forced to run an industrial unit at a loss.

The company is currently pursuing other suitors to sell its factory, amid this legal battle.