Samsung India workers' protest on for a week; cops detain few

As of Monday (Sep 16),hundreds of Samsung India workers at the firm's Sriperumbudur factory are understood to be continuing their protest, demanding higher pay, balanced work hours, and formal recognition of their Left-affiliated Workers Union. Since last Monday, staff who are involved in the assembly of home appliances such as televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners have been away from work, affecting the output of the factory near Chennai city in Southern India.

According to those who were leading the protest, the workers and the Trade Union leaders were to march towards the Kanchipuram District Collector's Office by 10 am, Monday. However, the Police are said to have foiled their plans by placing a few Trade Union members under preventive detention and picking up the others who are arriving at the pre-designated protest spot. "CITU District President Muthukumar and a few others were picked up from the CITU office. They are being illegally detained, and we don't have any information on their whereabouts. Cops have also confiscated Muthukumar's phone. I am on my way to the protest spot to assess the unfolding situation," Soundararajan, CITU, State President, shared his allegations with WION.

Muthukumar is not a Samsung India employee, he represents the protesting workers and is a Left-affiliated Trade Union Leader. "Samsung India management has not agreed to talk this out and listen to our demands, so we will continue our protest," Muthukumar had told WION last week. Back then, Samsung India issued a statement: "We actively engage with our workers to address any grievances they may have and comply with all laws and regulations. We will also ensure that there is no disruption to our consumers."

According to Soundararajan, Samsung's Management did not take kindly to the formation of the Workers Union, and they formed a rival committee and urged workers to join that instead. However, after the week-long protests, the Management has said that they will only speak to the Union representatives who are employed with Samsung India, he added. While Soundararajan is not a Samsung employee, he is the honorary president of the workers' union, which has been a bone of contention.

In recent months, in Samsung's home country, South Korea, 36,500 members of Samsung Electronics' biggest workers union had protested. They too demanded higher wages and benefits.

Likewise, the absence of hundreds of workers at Samsung's India plant comes at a crucial time in the market. The final four months of the calendar year are crucial for the Indian consumer appliance business, as the festive season sees a sharp spike in sales of consumer electronics and other goods. Samsung is a leader in the highly competitive, lucrative Indian consumer goods market.