The South Korean giant Samsung workers have been protesting in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu for more than ten days. The Chennai city plant, one of Samsung’s two factories in India, has almost 2000 workers, of whom 1,500 are on strike. This Samsung factory produces home appliances and contributes about a third to India’s annual $12bn revenue. The protest is disrupting production and leading to the company’s loss.
The workers are demanding that the newly formed labour union—the Samsung India Labour Welfare Union (SILWU)—be recognised for negotiating better wages and managing working hours.
The protest came to life even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi courted foreign investment by positioning India as a viable alternative to China for manufacturing activities.
Regarding the protest, Samsung India released a statement stating that the welfare of its workers is a top priority. The company stated, “We have initiated discussions with our workers at the Chennai plant to resolve all issues as soon as possible.”
“The workers have decided to strike work indefinitely till their demands are met,” said A Soundararajan, a member of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (Citu), backed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Key Demands of Workers Are-
- Samsung must recognise the new union.
- Allow collective bargaining.
- Reject competing unions, as about 90% of the workforce belongs to SILWU.
Workers earning $298 or Rs. 25,000 monthly demand a 50% salary increase over the next three years. They also complied regarding working for four or five hours nonstop and doing their jobs in unsafe conditions. The company denied all these allegations and said all workers get suitable breaks in between.
“Also, employees work on their given task of the manufacturing process as products are passed through the conveyor line. They are not required to ‘finish’ a product in such a time frame, which is unrealistic. We reiterate that we are in compliance with all laws and regulations,” the company added.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu’s Labour Welfare Minister C V Ganesh assured union officials that the issue is underway to resolve.
