Labour unrest flares at Maruti Suzuki A burnt reception block of the Maruti Suzuki factory in Manesar, India Angry workers at a Maruti Suzuki car factory in northern India have clashed with management and set fire to an administration building, resulting in dozens of injuries and halting production at the plant. Indian police said one person had died and 40 others injured. Suzuki in Japan said the injured included two Japanese citizens but that the dead worker was believed to be an Indian factory employee. Maruti, India's leading carmaker, said production at its troubled Manesar plant was suspended on Thursday following the violence, which it said erupted during talks between executives and union leaders following tension on the factory floor. Maruti shares fell more than 7 per cent in morning trading in Mumbai while shares of parent Suzuki were down by nearly 4 per cent in Tokyo on Thursday afternoon. Indian media reported that the unrest flared after a worker in the quality department was suspended following a quarrel with managers. Workers protested, demanding the immediate lifting of the suspension. The clashes late on Wednesday mark the most serious incident in a period of labour unrest that has hit the Japanese carmaker's Indian operations for more than a year, centred on pay issues, the use of casual labour and workers" efforts to organise a more independent union. In 2011, Maruti's Manesar plant, located in an industrial zone near the Indian capital of New Delhi, was paralysed for a total of 64 days by three separate rounds of strikes - including an eight-day occupation of the factory compound by disgruntled workers. During that period, workers also engaged in slowdowns and other forms of protest, including what executives said appeared to be deliberate acts of sabotage of equipment and cars. All together, the agitations resulted in a loss of production of about 65,000 cars in 2011, with a value of about $400m, at a time when Maruti - which has dominated India's car market for decades - is facing intensifying competition in its crucial small car segment from newer rivals including Honda, Toyota and Ford. However, the plant had apparently been operating normally since a truce was brokered in October between managers and workers" representatives. Maruti's share of India's passenger car market had recovered from a low of 26 per cent in October last year to about 40 per cent as of May. Yaresh Kothari, an automotive analyst at Angel Broking in Mumbai, said the latest violence at the plant was a "surprise." He said the full impact on the company would depend on how long it takes for operations to return to normal. "It is a setback, no doubt, but the impact will depend on how long production is suspended," he said. Additional reporting by Jonathan Soble in Tokyo