Centre asks Tamil Nadu CM to find resolution to Samsung workers' strike: Report

Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has asked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to find a resolution to the ongoing strike by Samsung workers, reported Reuters quoting a government source.

A strike at the South Korean group's plant near the city of Chennai has entered its third week, with more than 1,000 workers disrupting operations and demanding higher wages and union recognition at the plant. The employees strike in the plant near Chennai, the capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, started on Sept. 9 with a key demand for a 25-30% pay hike in the average monthly salary of 30,000-35,000 rupees ($425), said K.C. Gopi Kumar, the spokesman for the Samsung India Electronics workers union.

The minister has urged the state government to intervene for an "early and amicable" resolution, the source told Reuters.


Samsung Electronics workers at a factory in India's Tamil Nadu state are paid almost twice as much as employees in nearby companies, the South Korean group said on Tuesday, as a strike at the plant enters its third week.

More than 1,000 workers have disrupted operations and protested in a makeshift tent close to Samsung's home appliances factory near the city of Chennai since Sept. 9.

They are demanding higher wages and union recognition at the plant, which contributes roughly a third of Samsung's annual revenue in India of $12 billion.

Commenting on wages for the first time, Samsung said in a statement: "The average monthly salary of our full-time manufacturing workers at the Chennai plant is 1.8 times the average salary of similar workers employed at other companies in the region."

The Samsung factory is next to units of global giants such as Foxconn and Dell in an area popular for automobile and electronics manufacturing.

"Our workers are also eligible for overtime pay and other allowances and we provide a workplace environment that assures the highest standards of health, safety and welfare," Samsung said, adding it was ready to engage with workers to address their grievances so they can return to work as soon as possible.

(with agency inputs)