By Consultants Review Team
After lengthy talks with the management and the Tamil Nadu government, employees at Samsung Electronics' Sriperumbudur facility decided to end their 37-day strike on Tuesday. The accord includes a previous pay increase ruling, a guarantee that strike participants won't face disciplinary action, and a pledge by employees to abstain from any "pre-judicial" steps against the business.
Workers' demands for a pay raise, spearheaded by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, were at the core of the walkout; Samsung management had already given in to this demand early on. But in order to push for the factory's official recognition of its union—a case that is still ongoing in court—the CITU prolonged the strike. Both sides committed to waiting for the court's decision regarding union recognition as part of the settlement.
The CITU has agreed to stop all strike operations as the state administration has indicated support for the union's registration.
After Samsung promised that striking employees would not face any retaliation, management and employees agreed to a speedy return to normalcy in the last round of conciliatory discussions. Employees vowed to cooperate fully and refrain from any actions that would jeopardize the company's interests.
Additionally, the management has promised to respond in writing to the demands that the employees made of the conciliation officer.
"Both parties have accepted the terms," the state government said in a statement. The workers have said that they will immediately end the walkout and resume their jobs. Consequently, the Samsung manufacturing strike is over.
Although a general body meeting of the Samsung India Workers' Union is required before the CITU makes an announcement in this respect on Wednesday, union representatives have stated that the government and the firm have complied with all of their main demands.
Workers' complaints about heavy workloads combined with insufficient pay, demanding overtime goals, and Samsung's refusal to recognize their union were the main causes of the September 9 start of the strike.
Samsung responded this week by agreeing to introduce a Rs 5,000 monthly "Productivity Stabilization Incentive" that will be in effect from October 2024 to March 2025. The yearly pay increment talks for 2025–2026 will take this incentive into account. Important mediators included State Industries Minister T R B Rajaa, MSME Minister T M Anbarasan, Public Works Minister E V Velu, and Labor Minister C V Ganesan.
Samsung has also made concessions by expanding its air-conditioned bus services, which are now offered on five routes and will soon be available on all 108. In the event of a fatality, the company will also give the families of its employees an urgent relief money of Rs 1,00,000. Additionally, it has promised to start a "People First Promise" initiative where employees can provide input to enhance working conditions.
When converted to Indian currency, Samsung employees in Seoul make between Rs4.5 lakh and Rs 6 lakh per month, but their Indian counterparts only receive a small portion of that amount, between Rs20,000 and Rs25,000 per month, according to the CITU, which highlighted the glaring wage differences. As a result, the workers' union suggested raising wages gradually over the following three years to Rs 36,000 per month.