CHENNAI, Sept 13 (Askume) – An Indian worker strike disrupted production at a Samsung factory, shedding light on a politically backed labour group that has quietly organised workers at the South Korean company and now plans to expand its presence in the electronics industry. Samsung is working hard for the country.
It was the fifth day of Samsung’s protest against low wages and the eclipse came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a plan to attract foreign investors to “Make in India” and triple electronics output to $500 billion in six years.
During Modi’s decade-long rule, companies from Foxconn to Micron have been attracted by more business-friendly policies and cheap labour, especially as foreign manufacturing giants seek to diversify their supply chains outside the powerful country to China and elsewhere.
Hundreds of protesting workers wearing blue Samsung shirts and red caps bearing the initials of CITU sat in makeshift tents near a home appliance factory in Tamil Nadu state on Friday.
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) is backed by India’s most influential left-wing group and has 6.6 million workers. It calls for employee-friendly measures, though it has historically focused more on the auto industry and companies such as Hyundai Motor.
While workers at companies such as Samsung can unionise themselves, some employees see working with organisations such as CITU, which began in the 1970s, as a way to gain more state support and have their voices better heard by the company.
Tamil Nadu deputy general secretary S Kannan said after the Samsung strike, CITU now plans to enter the electronics manufacturing industry, which is growing rapidly but companies in the sector are “not adjusting wages appropriately”.
“There is no opportunity for collective bargaining,” he said.
Strikes of this scale affecting production are not common in the Indian electronics industry. Notable past incidents include worker riots at supplier Wistron and Foxconn iPhone factories in 2021, which led to wage arrears and food poisoning incidents respectively.
Kannan said CITU plans to fight for greater rights for workers at Apple supplier Flex and electronics company Sanmina (SANM.O).The union is in talks with the management for recognition and higher pay, among other demands.
Flextronics said in a statement that it maintains the highest global labour practice standards and believes in a respectful and collaborative environment.
The Prime Minister’s Office, the federal information technology ministry, the Tamil Nadu labour department and Samena did not respond to Askume’ questions.
Talk about the situation
Samsung’s strike is one of the biggest industrial unrests affecting the production of a foreign multinational. The plant alone generates nearly a third of the company’s $12 billion annual revenue in India.
Amid the workers’ protests, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has been visiting the United States since late August and has held talks with companies including Nike and Ford (FN) .
In the case of Samsung, CITU wrote a private letter in July, also seen by Askume, asking management to pay higher wages to workers who were facing “dire conditions”.
When the company disagreed, CITU supported the workers in launching a strike this week, while also challenging companies that the group says are underpaying poor workers.
CITU said Samsung workers earn an average of 25,000 rupees ($300) per month and demanded a pay hike of 36,000 rupees ($430) within three years. A worker outside the factory said he joined Samsung ten years ago and his monthly salary was only 23,000 rupees, with life becoming tough because of the rising cost of living.
“The incidence of strikes could be reduced if governments ensured that multinational companies had freedom of association and respected labour laws, including collective bargaining,” said Shyam Sundar, an economist who has written about labour reforms in India.
Samsung said in a statement on Friday that it has begun discussions with employees at its Chennai factory to “resolve all issues as soon as possible”.
