Over 100 Samsung India employees were detained by the Tamil Nadu police on Monday , September 16, while they were taking a rally to the Kanchipuram collectorate to submit a memorandum. The employees have been on a strike since September 9 demanding wage revision and better working hours.
The protest started after the management allegedly asked the employees, who are members of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), to disband their union. According to reports, E Muthukumar, CITU’s president was also detained.
He had previously claimed that the management was making false allegations to obstruct the union's recognition and that workers were being compelled to work up to 11 hours of overtime.
A senior police officer K Shanmugam told Reuters that they had planned to start a protest march, but were detained as no permission was given since there are schools, colleges and hospitals in the area. However, a worker protesting one km away from the Samsung plant in Sunguvarchatram said permission was granted on Sunday, September 13 night but was withdrawn at the last minute. While a large number of workers have been detained in a marriage hall, the whereabouts of the union leader are reportedly unknown.
The Sriperumbudur plant, which employs around 1,800 to 2,000 workers, is one of two key factories for Samsung in India, contributing significantly to its $12 billion annual revenue in the country. The strike had partially affected the production of the plant, which manufactures consumer electronics like refrigerators and washing machines. Visuals showed the workers donning company uniforms being transported in a bus to a hall. It remains unclear as to how long the workers have been detained.
A Samsung India spokesperson had told Reuters that the company has been engaging with workers to resolve their grievances, adding that the tech giant will "ensure that there is no disruption to our consumers". The state government was in a conciliation process between the management and workers, who have set up tents outside the factory.