Mumbai, Feb 18 (IANS): The existing lockout at Tata Marcopolo continues as "unconnected people" not recognised by the company insist on participating in the dialogue, Tata Motors said on Wednesday.

"The self-proclaimed office bearers of the 'Krantikari Kamgar Union' - an outfit not recognized by the company on technical and legal grounds - insisted on participating and eventually prevented any meaningful dialogue taking place," the company said in a statement.

As many as 2,500 workers of Tata Marcopolo - a joint venture between Tata Motors and Brazilian Marcopolo- have struck work on January 31 demanding wage hike and the lockout has crossed more than 18 days already.

Tata Marcopolo officials attended a meeting on Wednesday called by the assistant labour commissioner to negotiate with the people connected to the company to end the impasse, the statement said.

"We have reiterated our commitment to our operations here in Dharwad, as well as to the well-being and safety of our employees. We also remain committed to finding a long-term and fair solution to the current situation, without any compromise on discipline, safety, productivity and quality," the statement said.

The joint venture was set up in 2008 to roll out about 15,000 inter-state and inter-city luxury buses per annum from the plant in Dharwad city.

Tata Marcopolo hopes to find a solution soon and return to production, the statement added.