The protests at Samsung India’s Sriperumbudur unit took a new turn today as the CITU gets set to intensify its protest against the suspensions of workers at the unit with plans to call for a one-day massive strike on March 8 across the auto and electronics clusters of Oragadam/Sriperumbudur in Kanchipuram district.
The strike will be in 58 industrial units in the region involving over 15,000 employees, E Muthukumar, District Secretary, CITU Kanchipuram, told businessline after addressing Samsung India workers who were protesting in the strike at a temporary shed in Kanchipuram since Friday morning. This is to seek support for Samsung workers from other company workers, he said.
The protest today, which saw around Samsung 500 workers participate, comes a day after the company issued suspension orders on Thursday night to 14 more workers who were part of the CITU-backed Samsung India Thozilalargal Sangam over ‘indiscipline’ issues. This is in addition to the suspension orders issued to three workers a few days ago. Overall, over 1,000 Sangam workers are participating in the strike today.
‘Seeking support of unions across TN’
“We will issue strike notice in a day or two at industrial units the Kanchipuram,” he said. “We will also ask unions across Tamil Nadu to support us,” he added.
Muthukumar, addressing the striking workers, urged Samsung to immediately revoke the suspension orders issued to the 17 workers. He also urged the Tamil Nadu government to intervene and end the 16-day stalemate. The government, however, has been silent and remains on a wait and watch mode.
Workers participating in the strike said the company has recruited nearly 3,000 casual labourers (CL) to work in the factory. This means for every one regular employee, an average of three CLs has been recruited, they said.
On Thursday, Samsung’s statement said, “At Samsung, our priority is to maintain a safe and stable workplace for all workers. A certain section of workers once again illegally tried to disrupt operations and industrial peace today. We have a zero-tolerance policy for any illegal activities by workers that disrupt industrial stability and peace at the workplace. It is important for all employees to adhere to company policies, and those who violate these policies will be subject to disciplinary action after due process. While our production remains uninterrupted, we urge the state authorities to secure the safety of our workers, maintain discipline and provide ease of doing business.”