Hundreds Of Workers Strike At Samsung Factory In India

Production at a key Samsung Electronics plant in southern India was disrupted by hundreds of employees striking for higher wages, as top executives sought to resolve a rare episode of labor unrest, CNN reported.

The strike-hit plant in Sriperumbudur, the smaller of Samsung’s two Indian factories, employs around 1,800 people and manufactures electronic products. I Photo: Samsung

South Korea-based Samsung, India’s biggest consumer electronics company, counts the country as a key growth market, competing with the likes of LG Electronics to produce everything from televisions and refrigerators to smartphones.

The strike-hit plant in Sriperumbudur, the smaller of Samsung’s two Indian factories, employs around 1,800 people and manufactures electronic products, though not smartphones.

However, the plant still contributes 20% to 30% of Samsung’s annual $12 billion revenue in India, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Posters saying “Indefinite Strike” were posted outside the factory near the city of Chennai, where hundreds of workers in company uniforms set up tents to shield themselves from the heat.

Union leader E. Muthukumar told Reuters, “The strike will continue for a third day” on Wednesday. About half of the factory’s daily production was affected when many workers stayed away on Monday.

The protesters are pressing for higher wages, better hours, and, most importantly, want Samsung to recognize the formation of a union backed by the Center of Indian Trade Unions group. Shares of Samsung closed 1.9% lower in Seoul, compared to the benchmark Kospi’s 0.5% fall.