Chennai: Despite the Samsung India Electronics Private Limited management signing an agreement on Monday with a workers’ committee to end the nearly one month long strike at its factory at Sriperumbudur, CITU, the trade union that has been spearheading the protest, announced the continuation of the agitation, prompting the State government to urge the workers to resume work immediately in the interest of the welfare of employees and their families.
Speaking to the media at the Secretariat on Tuesday, State Industries Minister T R B Rajaa, who was among the three Ministers assigned to hold talks with the management and workers by Chief Minister M K Stalin, said it was unfair to continue the agitation just because one of their 14 demands - registration of the CITU - was not acceded to.
The company management had said that it was not possible to provide the registration now because a case was pending in court on the matter but had agreed to abide by the court verdict when it came, the minister said and added that the government stood by the employees and urged them to have faith in the Chief Minister.
The protesting workers, who began the strike on September 9, were pressing for 14 demands that included wage revision, better working conditions and recognition of their union backed by the CITU. Of the about total 1,750 workforce, 1100 workers had joined the strike, Raja said.
With the strike going on with no end in sight, the Chief Minister instructed Rajaa, State Minister for MSMEs T M Anbarasan and Labour Minister C V Ganesan to put an end to the impasse. So they held talks separately with the officials representing the management, the employees working in the factory despite the strike call, the agitating workers and also the CITU representatives.
Rajaa said that some workers expressed apprehension over losing their jobs and livelihood by continuing the strike. Now by not calling off the strike after the agreement was signed, the workers would only lose their salaries at this festival season, he said.
Dispelling the rumour that some workers were paid just Rs 21,000, Rajaa said one particular worker who was continuously absenting himself from work was paid that amount on humanitarian ground as the company did not want to terminate his services without hearing his side of the story.
Otherwise, the workers were paid decent salaries ranging between Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 a month and many workers were newly married and were just at the threshold of their careers, he said.
Samsung India agreed to accede to all their demands for wage revision, provide better transport and canteen facilities and also promised to improve industrial relations with the workers. Both ‘parties’ who signed the agreement even expressed a desire to make the factory a great place to work in.
The company had promised to engage with workers directly and strive to be a responsible company in all ways.
