Major industry bodies in India have expressed concern about the second successive month of continuous protests by Samsung workers in Tamil Nadu. The CII, ASSOCHAM, and FICCI urged an urgent and amicable resolution to the standoff involving Samsung’s management, protesting workers, and the Tamil Nadu government.
With the second-biggest state economy in India and the most industrialized, Tamil Nadu has attracted considerable investments from electronics contract manufacturing leaders worldwide. Since September 9, hundreds of workers at the Samsung assembly plant near Chennai have been on strike demanding better wages, improvement in working conditions, improved work-life balance, and recognition of their trade union.
Samsung India Workers Union is affiliated with Left-oriented trade unions. This manufacturing unit is considered very important to Samsung, as it produces televisions, washing machines, and air conditioners, hence making a significant contribution to the Indian consumer electronics market.
The agitators have been joined by the Communist Party of India-Marxist condemned the Tamil Nadu government for detaining workers who came near the agitation site. This week, the Madras High Court also ruled that there is no ban on workers’ protests.
Police arrested several protest leaders and removed their makeshift tents on Wednesday. The protesters and their supporters from the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) had been camping near the Samsung facility in Sriperumbudur for over a month.
Ironically, Communist parties that support the protests are allies of the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, the DMK. Some DMK allies have criticized the government’s attempt to repress what has so far been a peaceful protest. Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram asked, “Why are protesting workers arrested? Were they a threat to law and order?”
S. Venkatesan, CPI(M) parliamentarian from Madurai, accused the Tamil Nadu government of acting as “guardians of Samsung.” The protests finally compelled India’s Labour Minister to appeal to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin, for intervention in sorting out the issue. Recent talks between the Tamil Nadu government and other stakeholders have aimed to find an amicable solution.
According to the Industries Minister of Tamil Nadu, TRB Raaja, the demand for recognition of the SIWU is the only pending one, and a court is considering it. The lack of recognition is the primary reason behind the continuance of protests.
The protests come amidst growing investments in Tamil Nadu and other southern states by global companies de-risking supplies with a ‘China+1’ strategy. On Wednesday, Thangam Thennarasu, Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu, called upon trade unions and protesters to withdraw their agitation, reminding them that the factory from Samsung employs thousands and is the livelihood avenue for hundreds of families.
