A hunger strike that began on October 2 has now entered its 37th day in Pune's Talegaon. General Motors India employees are the participants, and their demand is that they want the 1,000 permanent workers to be transferred to Hyundai Motor.
The reason behind this move is Hyundai's acquisition of General Motors' manufacturing facility in the region. General Motors stopped selling cars in India in 2017, leading to uncertainty for its workers.
Hyundai's interest in taking over the Talegaon plant reignited hope, but it came with a catch – the existing General Motors employees weren't guaranteed jobs.
Fearing unemployment, the General Motors Employees Union initiated the hunger strike to secure their own futures and the futures of their dependents. They've criticized the government for not taking their concerns seriously and have urged that the labour issue be addressed.
General Motors had previously signed an agreement to sell the plant to Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motors. However, the agreement fell through last year when the Chinese carmaker canceled its plans to enter the Indian market.
