The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday said that the month-long strike undertaken by workers at the Samsung Electronics factory in Sriperumbudur has been called off, The News Minute reported.
However, the labour group Centre of Indian Trade Unions, which is backing the strikes, said that a decision on ending the protest would be taken on Wednesday.
The majority of workers at the Samsung India home appliances factory have been striking since September 9, making it one of the biggest strikes in India in recent years. Their demands include better working conditions, higher wages and recognition of the Samsung India Thozhilalar Sangam, their labour union.
On Tuesday, the state Labour Welfare Department said that the workers had agreed to return to work. This came after talks with the workers at the state secretariat. “On returning to work, the management should not victimise the workers for participating in the strike,” the department said in a release.
It added: “After returning to work, the workers will cooperate with the management fully and not do any such acts prejudicial to the interest of the management. The management will file a written reply to the charter of demands filed by the workers before the conciliation officer.”
Centre of Indian Trade Unions chief A Soundararajan said that “the talks went well and we have come to favourable agreements”, The News Minute reported. He said that a meeting with the workers would take place on Wednesday, after which a decision would be taken on ending the protests.
Soundararajan said that four state ministers were present at Tuesday’s meeting, including Public Works Department Minister EV Velu, Labour Welfare and Skill Development Minister CV Ganesan, Industries Minister TRB Rajaa and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister TM Anbarasan.
“It is a significant development that the same company [Samsung] that refused to even speak to us has today, thanks to the efforts of the ministers and state government, held talks regarding our demands,” he said.
On October 9, the workers rejected a settlement offer made by Samsung, which included a hike in wages, among other things, reported Reuters.
The company offered the workers monthly incentives of Rs 5,000 until March, more air-conditioned buses, a diversified cafeteria menu and a gift card of nearly Rs 2,000 in case of childbirth, according to the news agency.
However, the labour group Centre of Indian Trade Unions rejected the offer as the company had not shown any willingness to recognise the Samsung India Thozhilalar Sangam.
Neither the state government nor Soundararajan clarified whether Samsung had agreed to recognise the labour union on Tuesday.
On October 2, over 900 workers were detained by the police, a day after the Madras High Court gave the state government two weeks to decide on an application seeking the registration of the Samsung India Thozhilalar Sangam under the Trade Union Act.
The Sriperumbudur plant makes electronic products such as refrigerators, televisions and washing machines. It accounts for roughly a third of Samsung’s annual revenue in India of $12 billion.
On September 16, the police detained 104 striking workers at the factory for almost a day, The Hindu reported.
Also read: Samsung India factory workers on strike seeking pay hike, better working conditions and days off
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