Solidarity visit to the striking workers at Exide Industries in Pune
25/11/25, Pune: A delegation of approximately 20 participants from the 3rd International Automotive Workers' Conference visited striking workers at India's largest battery manufacturer, Exide Industries Ltd., in Pune. They had set up a stage with a tent opposite the factory gate, where we visited them together with the secretary of the SEM trade union.
They have been striking for 93 days against Exide's plans to relocate production. The company wants to replace the 270 permanent, militant workers with significantly lower-paid, and primarily temporary, workers. Currently, 1,200 contract workers are employed, some of whom are recruited from far away. This dispute has been ongoing for three and a half years and is the second strike. The strikers were, of course, overjoyed by our visit and the messages of solidarity we conveyed. They asked us to publicize their struggle even more widely. A flower-adorned picture of a colleague hung on the tent wall. The situation and the letter from HR had so devastated him that he died of a heart attack! The strikers also reported that they have already achieved some successes in court. Exide is now obligated to continue employing and paying them. However, management is unmoved by this ruling. We spontaneously collected money for our colleagues, gave them our IAC flag, and promised to publicize their struggle in their respective factories and union meetings. Together, we chanted Indian battle cries and: Long live international solidarity! Many embraced each other, and everyone was deeply moved by this act of solidarity. It strengthened our confidence that, united, we workers can become a force superior to the corporations. In the end, we were even given chocolate by the wife of the neighboring kiosk owner, which shows that the workers' struggle resonates with the public.
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