A month after worker protests shook Noida’s industrial area, a Provincial Armed Constabulary bus sat parked outside Motherson factory’s Gate 4. Four guards frisked workers in beige uniforms as they walked through the gates. A deputy manager, coming to the entrance to answer questions, was clear: “The protests have had no impact. Everything is the same as before.”
Management’s version of normalcy ends a few kilometres away. At the District and Sessions Court Surajpur, Newslaundry met families of five workers – four men and one woman – who were jailed for over a month before bail was granted. Their names are Sheela, Vishal, Vikas, Anmol, and Ajeet. Their bail bonds cost Rs 40,000 each. Their families are now in debt.
