Sukhmani Kooner, Pune
Samsung India workers from the manufacturing facility at Sriperumbudur, Chennai have been protesting against the low wages as opposed to the long working hours. Since 9th September, more than a thousand workers have been on strike.
Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) Tamil Nadu Secretary Muthukumar said that after three rounds of negotiations, no common ground could be reached which led to the march towards the collector’s office. He said that the management has urged them to disband the union, following which their demands were not met. He added that by making objections, the company is impeding the union’s recognition. Employees were made to work up to 11 hours of overtime by the management after the union resolved to discontinue overtime.
In recent developments, Samsung has issued ‘no work, no pay’ to threaten the protesting employees. They are hinting at layoffs for those who continue to “illegally protest” for the implementation of 20 demands put up by the union. A notice was issued by the company saying that employees who fail to report to work within four days from the date of receipt of this notice, are directed to show their reason within seven days from the date of issuing of this notice as to why they should not be laid off.
The strike has had adverse implications on the production of electronic products. The strike comes at a crucial time wherein it could hinder India’s aim to become a leading global manufacturing hub. Analysts are suggesting that the Tamil Nadu government must work quickly and handle the matter at hand delicately to avoid the repercussions India had to face during the Nokia labour unrest. The Nokia labour unrest not only resulted in job losses but also gave China a playing field to assert dominance in the manufacturing sector.
Global Trade Research Initiative ( GTRI ) has also hinted at the intelligence units to investigate whether or not there are foreign instigations and motivations involved in the protests. When there is unrest, it destabilises the ecosystem for economic and industrial growth. Tamil Nadu is a crucial state in this sector as it accounts for 34% of India’s electronic exports. Ajay Srivastava, GTRI founder, told The Economic Times that the escalating unrest poses a serious risk to the manufacturing ecosystem in the region, which includes major players like Foxconn, Sanmina, and Flex.