Workers at the Sriperumbudur unit of Samsung Electronics called off a 37-day-long strike after multiple rounds of talks with the state government and management on Tuesday. The deal includes an already decided wage hike, assurance of no disciplinary action against striking employees, and workers agreeing not to take any “pre-judicial” action.
The majority of the demands from the striking workers, led by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), including a pay hike, had already been accepted by Samsung management. Despite this, CITU continued with the strike, seeking recognition of its union, which is now a matter before the court. On Tuesday, there was a consensus to wait for the legal outcome, and the government also favoured the demand for registration of the union, following which the union agreed to call off the strike.
During the conciliation talks, representatives from both the management and the striking workers agreed that all workers would immediately call off the strike and return to work. The management stated that upon returning, workers involved in the strike would not be victimised.
On the other hand, the workers agreed to fully cooperate with the management and refrain from any actions prejudicial to the management’s interests upon returning to work. The management will also issue a written reply to the charter of demands submitted by the workers to the conciliation officer.
“Both parties have accepted this advice. The workers have informed that they will call off the strike immediately and return to work. Thus, the strike at the Samsung factory has come to an end, and all the workers are resuming work,” said a government statement. CITU is expected to officially call off the strike on Wednesday after a general body meeting of the Samsung India Workers’ Union. However, leaders stated that all their demands had been accepted by both the government and the company.
The strike at the Samsung unit began on September 9, with workers raising issues like overwork with low wages, unrealistic overtime targets, and the company’s policy of not recognising their union.
Last week, the company agreed to provide a Productivity Stabilisation Incentive of Rs 5,000 per month, starting from October 2024 through March 2025. During wage negotiations with employees, this special incentive will be considered for the annual wage increment for 2025-26. State Industries Minister TRB Rajaa, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Minister TM Anbarasan, Public Works Minister EV Velu, and Labour Minister CV Ganesan spearheaded the talks on behalf of the government.
The company also agreed to expand air-conditioned bus services from the current five routes to all 108 routes by next year. In the unfortunate event of an employee’s death, Samsung will provide immediate relief of Rs 100,000 to the family. The company also agreed to launch the MD’s People First Promise programme and introduce a channel to collect feedback from workers to further improve working conditions.
CITU pointed out that Samsung workers in Seoul receive an average of Rs 4.5-6.0 lakh in wages and salaries, while their Indian counterparts earn meagre amounts of Rs 20,000-25,000 per month. As a result, CITU demanded that workers should be paid Rs 36,000, to be extended over a period of three years.
First Published: Oct 15 2024 | 7:35 PM IST