‘No one wants to hire us’: Acquitted workers stare at an uncertain future

2012 MANESAR MARUTI PLANT VIOLENCE

THE INITIAL elation over, the 117 workers acquitted last week in Maruti’s Manesar plant violence case are now facing the harsh reality — getting a job and starting life afresh.

Sitting outside the district court on Friday, 26-year-old Vijender Singh, who was acquitted, was waiting for the pronouncement of the sentence for the 31 convicted in the case, his former colleagues. Although he does feel sympathy for them, he admitted that his own problems are far from over.

Singh worked at the Maruti plant in Manesar for 11 months before the violence broke out and he was He spent 32 months in jail.

A resident of Hisar, Singh holds an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) diploma, which he now fears is useless.

“This case has tainted us forever and all the qualifications and experience we have cannot change that,” he said. “It is not just about the time we spent in prison, but also the fact that we have no work to show for those three years. Hence, companies hesitate to hire us.”

Ever since he was released from prison in early 2015, Singh says he has been looking for a job, but has been turned away each time. Left with no choice, he has been working as a labourer in his hometown.

Many other workers claimed that all Gurgaon factories “are hand-in-glove with Maruti, following the instructions of the latter to not employ those accused in the case, regardless of their acquittal”.

Pankaj Kumar, 28, who hails from Rohtak and spent 39 months in prison before getting bail, is convinced of this. He worked at the plant for two years till the incident and his subsequent arrest.

“Maruti controls everyone in Gurgaon and there is a serious conspiracy against us here. We cannot get a job in this place. Employers quiver at the name of Maruti and all acquittals in the world cannot change that,” he said.

The fears of some of the older workers, meanwhile, are greater for their families than themselves. Amarjeet Singh, a father of two girls, is primarily worried about how his “inability to get a good job” will affect their future.

“I have lost time with my girls because I was in prison for 3 years, but I don’t want them to lose a good future because of it. There is no doubt that all of us will try to get back on our feet, but if and until that happens, we know that our families will incur many more losses,” he said, summing up the sentiments of many others like him.

Manoj Kumar The convicted workers outside the district court.