Samsung defends Indian wages as factory strike enters third week
Samsung Electronics workers at a factory in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu are being paid nearly twice as much as employees at neighboring companies, the South Korean company said on Tuesday, as a strike at the factory enters its third week.
Since September 9, more than 1,000 workers have disrupted work and protested in a makeshift tent near Samsung’s home appliances factory near the city of Chennai.
They are demanding higher wages and union recognition at the factory, which contributes about a third of Samsung’s annual revenue in India of $12 billion (approximately Rs 1,00,359 crore).
Samsung commented on the wages for the first time, saying in a statement: “The average monthly salary of our full-time production workers at the Chennai plant is 1.8 times higher than the average salary of comparable workers at other companies in the region.”
Samsung’s factory is located next to facilities of global giants such as Foxconn and Dell, in an area popular for the production of cars and electronics.
“Our employees are also eligible for overtime and other benefits and we provide a working environment that ensures the highest standards of health, safety and well-being,” Samsung said. The company added that it would like to engage with employees to address their concerns so that they can return to work as soon as possible.
The Samsung protests cast a shadow over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for more foreign investment to “Make in India” and triple electronics production to $500 billion (roughly Rs. 41,81,635 crore) in six years. It is the biggest strike in India in recent years.
Tamil Nadu Labour Minister Veera Raghava Rao said on Tuesday that efforts were still underway to resolve the dispute.
According to the CITU union, which is leading the strike, Samsung workers earn an average of 25,000 rupees ($300) a month. They are demanding an additional 36,000 rupees ($430) a month for three years.
Samsung last week warned its striking workers that they would not receive pay if they continued to protest, Reuters reported.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
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