Samsung India employees continue strike

Sriperumbudur. Workers at Samsung Electronics in India continued their strike for a fifth day after a meeting on Thursday between their union, company management and the state government failed to reach any agreement, a union leader told Reuters.

The plant makes home appliances such as televisions, refrigerators and washing machines, contributing 20 to 30 percent of Samsung Electronics’ $12 billion annual revenue in India.

The South Korean group is the largest player in the consumer electronics industry in India, which is a key growth market for the company.

Tamil Nadu’s labour minister has held talks with union representatives and Samsung officials in an attempt to resolve a strike that has halted the plant near Chennai for four days.

Hundreds of workers are demanding higher wages in one of the biggest incidents of industrial unrest in India in recent years.

“They (Samsung management) asked us to stop the strike but they did not recognise the union or talk to us, so the strike continues,” said union leader E. Muthukumar.

Many workers wearing Samsung’s blue uniform shirts were seen sitting inside a makeshift tent near the factory, which employs about 1,800 people.

The talks on Thursday included the state’s labour minister, CV Ganesan, labour secretary K. Veera Raghava Rao, union representatives and Samsung officials.

“The government has a sincere intention to resolve (the strike),” Rao had told Reuters earlier. Subsequent calls to Rao were not answered.

Samsung officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It was not clear which Samsung representatives attended the meeting. Reuters reported this week that JB Park, the company’s chief executive for Southwest Asia, had visited the state along with senior officials with the aim of resolving the matter.

The workers want Samsung to recognise their union, raise wages and reduce working hours.

Samsung India has been actively engaging with workers “to address any grievances they may have and to comply with all laws and regulations,” a company spokesperson said Monday.