After a month-long strike, Samsung factory workers in Tamil Nadu have resumed their duties. Surprisingly, the company has chosen not to take disciplinary action against the striking employees.
The recently concluded strike in Chennai involved about 1,500 Samsung employees who demanded higher wages, better working conditions, and union recognition. A labour activist supporting the workers told the BBC that although Samsung hadn't recognised the union, it had agreed to negotiate on the other demands.
A 2019 report suggested that Samsung was exploring the possibility of outsourcing manufacturing to China in order to remain competitive with Chinese smartphone manufacturers. In the meantime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been sparing no effort to make India the top manufacturing alternative to China.
However, this strike, one of the largest disruptions faced by the South Korean tech giant in recent years, jeopardised Prime Minister Modi's efforts to present India as a more attractive manufacturing destination than China.
Samsung Workers Strike Ends In Tamil Nadu
On Wednesday, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), a politically affiliated national labour union that spearheaded the protests, announced the workers' decision to end the strike following a meeting.
"During the meeting, it was decided that the workers would return to their jobs on Thursday," E Muthukumar told the BBC. He further clarified that a court would decide on the issue surrounding registering the new union, the Samsung India Labour Welfare Union (SILWU).
"We have decided to call off the protest as the Samsung management has decided to engage with workers on all key demands like higher wages, medical insurance and better facilities. So those discussions will continue," he said.
In an X post, TRB Rajaa, the state's Minister for Industries, stated after the meeting that the striking workers would return to work immediately. He also assured the workers that Samsung would not take any punitive action against them for their involvement in the strike.
Additionally, Rajaa stated that the workers had pledged to cooperate fully with the management and that Samsung would submit a written reply to their charter of demands. Samsung later issued a statement welcoming CITU's decision to call off the strike.
Samsung's Response To The Strike
"We will not take action against workers who merely participated in the illegal strike. We are committed to work closely with our workers to make the Chennai factory a great place to work," the statement said.
The protest began on September 9 near the Chennai factory, which employs approximately 2,000 workers and is one of Samsung's two facilities in India. The workers emphasised the importance of union recognition, stating that it was essential for negotiating improved wages and working hours with the management.
Akriti Bhatia, a labour rights activist, told the BBC that multinational companies establishing factories in India frequently disregard Indian labour laws, which guarantee workers the right to association and collective bargaining.
She explained that these companies often circumvent Indian labour laws by establishing internal unions that are nominally led by workers but remain under the control of management. These companies vehemently oppose external, politically affiliated unions.
A source working for Samsung previously told BBC that the organisation "fully supports unions but not ones backed by a third party."
Earlier this year, hundreds of workers at a Tamil Nadu manufacturing plant belonging to an Apple supplier staged a one-day strike, demanding recognition of their union.
