Police in India detained approximately 600 individuals, including Samsung Electronics employees and union members, for organizing a street protest. The demonstration was part of an ongoing strike that has lasted for four weeks, involving thousands of workers from the South Korean company’s Indian operations.
The strikers are demanding improvements to their working conditions at the Chennai factory and other locations.
Charles Sam Rajadurai, a senior state police official, stated that the protesters were taken into custody due to the public disruption caused by their march. Samsung Electronics, a global leader in semiconductor and computer chip manufacturing, has faced increasing pressure from its workforce in India over labor concerns.
What are the protesters demanding?
The workers are asking for a wage increase, working days capped at eight hours, and recognition of the factory’s main union, CITU.
The Chennai plant is Samsung’s second-largest in the country and generates nearly one-third of Samsung’s annual revenue in India, which amounts to $12 billion.
According to the union, Samsung workers in Chennai earn an average of 25,000 rupees (roughly $300) per month and want that figure to increase to 36,000 rupees within three years.
When did the protests begin?
The strike began on September 9. Since then, thousands of Samsung workers in India have been demonstrating in a makeshift tent near the factory.
The union claims that police are detaining thousands of workers. “Since September 9, at least 10,000 workers have been detained,” said union member S. Kannan to the EFE news agency, albeit adding that most were soon released.
How has Samsung reacted?
Samsung has threatened striking workers with dismissal, although it says it is open to negotiating a consensus solution with them.
According to the company, workers at the Chennai factory earn nearly twice as much as similar workers in the same region.
The South Korean company also operates another factory in India, located in Noida, near New Delhi.