Symons cone crusher

Government and business leaders have repeatedly expressed concern that the labour strife at the Manesar plant could scare away investors. The state-corporate witch-hunt of the most militant workers and the massive police deployment to protect MSI is meant to send a message both to the working class—the plant is situated in one of India’s largest industrial belts—and to investors. The Congress Party, which leads India’s national government, and the Indian state apparatus are determined to forcibly uphold sweatshop conditions and will act as the employers’ enforcers in stamping out worker resistance.

As the pretext for their assault on the Manesar MSI workers, the company and government are citing a violent altercation between workers and management on July 18 that ended in a fire, the death of a senior manager, and the injuring of scores of workers.

The company has alleged that union leaders planned the altercation and is seeking to have them charged with serious criminal offenses. It has also vowed to be rid of any worker who it says was involved in the July 18 incident.

In fact, as the World Socialist Web Site has previously reported, the July 18 altercation was a deliberate management provocation. Company officials suspended a worker after he protested against the abusive casteist remarks of a supervisor. Workers angered by the suspension began to protest, demanding that the supervisor be disciplined instead. While MSWU leaders were discussing the dispute with management representatives, hundreds of armed company-organized goons brutally attacked the workers, provoking a major clash.