Samsung workers in India end one-month strike

INDIA: Employees at the Samsung Electronics’ factory in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, who have been on strike for just over a month, called off the strike after Samsung management decided to engage with the workers on their demands.

The 1,500 workers launched a strike to demand better wages and working facilities and recognition of their newly formed union.

According to a BBC report, Samsung has not recognized the union yet but is willing to discuss the other demands. The strike was one of the biggest that Samsung has ever seen at any of its factories.

Samsung India workers end strike after more than a month https://t.co/MKQFyDjwsi

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The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), which is a politically-backed labour union, announced that the workers would be ending the strike on Wednesday.

Union leader E. Muthukumar told the BBC that the workers would return to their jobs on Thursday. He said that the issue of the registration of the new union, which is called the Samsung India Labour Welfare Union, will be decided in court.

“We have decided to call off the protest as the Samsung management has decided to engage with workers on all key demands like higher wages, medical insurance and better facilities. So those discussions will continue,” he said.

Samsung has also agreed “not to victimize the workers only for having participated in the strike”.

Samsung issued a statement saying, “We will not take action against workers who merely participated in the illegal strike. We are committed to work closely with our workers to make the Chennai factory a great place to work.”

The workers started the strike on Sept 9. Some 2,000 employees work at the Chennai factory. India has two Samsung plants.

In an interview with the BBC, labour rights activist Akriti Bhatia said multinational companies in India don’t usually follow Indian labour laws, which allow the right to association and collective bargaining.

These companies tend to overlook this and set up their own unions which only look good on paper as the management exerts its own authority.