Samsung’s production hit amidst festive season – Times of India

CHENNAI: Samsung India‘s talks with the unrecognised labour union failed to reach a settlement on Tuesday and hundreds of workers from its consumer electronics manufacturing plant at Sunguvarchatram near Chennai have decided to continue the strike till Friday this week.
This could create trouble for the South Korean giant as the festival season is approaching.Sources in the know told TOI that the company’s production is hit and it is scrambling to run operations with temporary workers, those from vendor units and former employees.
Sources put the number of workers who participated in the strike at around 80% on Monday and roughly about 65% on Tuesday. The plant employs about 1,800 workers and makes ACs, refrigerators, washing machines and televisions.
An official with the state labour department, on condition of anonymity, told TOI that the company requested the union members to withdraw the strike. They raised concerns on business getting affected, especially during the festival season, which will witness uptick in demand, the official added.
The company refused to recognise the union as they were not yet registered and called the request for talks premature at this moment.
According to a Reuters report, the facility contributes around 30% of Samsung’s annual $12 billion revenue in India.
Sources at Samsung confirmed that the production is hit, but said it has improved on Tuesday to stand around 60% of the capacity. It is ready to engage in ‘direct conversation’ with workers, the source added. The conciliation talks between the protestors and the company failed to reach agreement and the next round of talks is slated to be held on Friday.
A Soundararajan, honorary president of the CITU-affiliated Samsung India workers union said the management failed to recognise the union, which is represented by the majority of the workers. “Our demand is reasonable, recognise us and hold talks with us for wage revision. We did not press for an immediate wage hike. Creating a competitive labour organisation or providing incentives to create a competitive union is also a point of contention,” he said.
Samsung in a statement on Monday had said, “At Samsung India, the welfare of our employees is our top priority. We actively engage with our workers to address any grievances they may have and comply with all laws and regulations. We will also ensure that there is no disruption to our consumers.” However it did not comment on specific queries citing ongoing talks.