MUMBAI -(Dow Jones)- India's Bosch Ltd. (500530.BY), a unit of German engineering giant Robert Bosch GmbH (BOS.YY), Saturday said that it had lifted the lockout of its plant at Naganathapura, near the southern Indian city of Bangalore, where workers have been on strike since Monday.

The decision to lift the lockout is with immediate effect, the company said in a statement, adding that it was taken at a conciliatory meeting chaired by a state labor official, who advised the management to consider lifting the lockout and also asked the recognized union in the plant to restore normalcy in production.

Considering the assurances given by the union, Bosch decided to lift the lockout at its plant, "pending discussions on all issues of Charter of Demands, submitted by the union, for an amicable settlement," it said.

The group manufactures spark plugs, alternators and generator starters for the Indian automotive industry and exports to its parent group's firms worldwide.

Bosch said workers at its factories at Bangalore and Naganathapura, both in the southern Karnataka state, are demanding a hike of around 45% in their current average monthly total salary of INR36,000.

Bosch India is one of the latest Indian auto-parts makers to face labor troubles. A 45-day strike at Rico Auto Industries Ltd. late last year had forced General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. to temporarily shut factories in North America because of part shortages, while a local unit of Japan's Denso Corp. is currently witnessing labor unrest at its manufacturing plant.

The issues come at a time when the fast-growing auto industry is driving demand for parts in India. Also, global auto makers setting up manufacturing plants in the country are sourcing parts locally to reduce costs.

The company, which reported net sales of INR47 billion in 2009, has about 6,700 permanent workers. Its other factories, in western India's Nashik and Goa and the northern city of Jaipur, aren't affected, Bosch had said.

Bosch has been negotiating with its employees for the past seven months on their demand for wage hikes. The last time it had a wage settlement was in 2005, when it gave an average increase of INR3,600 a month to its workmen. That settlement expired Dec. 31, 2008.

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