Samsung workers go on strike again demanding reinstatement of suspended staff

Employees of Samsung India have gone on strike again, pressing for various demands, including reinstating three workers who were suspended by the management recently.

Employees of Samsung India have gone on strike again, pressing for various demands, including reinstating three workers who were suspended by the management recently.

The employees have been staging a sit-in protest on the premises of the consumer electronics goods factory at Sriperumbudur in Kancheepuram district for the past four days.

The Samsung India Employees Union president E. Muthukumar said the employees were also protesting the company’s attempts to make them join a committee formed by it. “This is an attempt to break the union, which was formed after a long struggle,” he said.

“The staff had been warding off these attempts by the company and demanding that they be allowed to meet the Korean management. However, this did not happen, and a few [employees] were suspended under some false guise last month,” he said.

A member of the union said the company had been consistently trying to push them to join the committee. “There is an office for that committee inside the factory. The company had announced an interest-free loan of ₹3 lakh for those joining the committee. The suspensions were served without even issuing show cause notices.”

A spokesperson from Samsung said: “Samsung does not condone any unlawful actions by employees that disrupt the industrial peace at the workplace. The company has filed official complaints with the relevant authorities against certain workers who have violated this policy. They will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action following a formal enquiry and have been suspended to protect the work environment and other workers. This legitimate measure was taken in accordance with all applicable Indian laws.”

“Despite the illegal action by some, most of our workers remain dedicated to ensuring that normal business operations continue. We continue to make efforts towards a collective agreement with our workers to resolve the issues and for this we remain open to a dialogue facilitated by the government,” the company said in its statement.