CITU to conduct demonstration on Foxconn labour issue

The seventh round of talks failed as both the parties stood their ground, said the union

Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) is planning to conduct a mass demonstration marching to the District Collector's office in Kancheepuram, Sriperumbudur, on January 12, to mark its protest against the alleged neglect of the administration on the ongoing labour issue in Foxconn India, a component manufacturer which has been supplying to Nokia India facility here earlier.

The decision was taken in the wake of repeated failure of talks and the action of the management not to allow the workers into the factory, said E Muthukumar, president of Foxconn India Employees Union. The seventh round of talks between the Foxconn management, workers' union in front of the Deputy Labour Commissioner, Chennai, ended without any development on Thursday, he added.

"While the labour department has been saying that they will take action against the company for not allowing workers inside, nothing has been seen in action. Meanwhile we have been arrested several times for attempting to enter the factory premises. If an action is taken, it should be on both the side, not only on us," he said. He said that around 2,000 people working with various companies and supporting CITU including Foxconn workers who are members in CITU affiliated union, DMK backed union or AIADMK backed union would be participating in the demonstration.

The next tripartite meeting would be held on the January 12, he added. The company officials were not immediately available for comment.

The company, last month, has informed its workers that it is suspending operations in the facility, situated near the Nokia facility, as there are no orders for it to run the plant.

The company, in a notice displayed at the boundary of the facility, said, "We are not able to give jobs to all the workers, since we don't have orders to give jobs. Since the management has declared a holiday for the factory, workers are asked not to come to the factory." It added the company is trying to find a solution through a dialogue and till that time the workers has to be patient and extend full co-operation.

It said that the action is being taken due to a change in that facility's customer base and a related change in the manufacturing requirements of our customers in India. The company is working with the government and the relevant labor unions to ensure that this action is carried out in a manner that follows all relevant laws and regulations and is fair to the approximately 1,700 employees who will be affected by this move, it added.

FIH India Pvt Ltd, formerly known as Foxconn India Private Limited, in fact stopped operations at its factory at the Nokia Sriperumbudur SEZ near Chennai, two days before the announced date of December 24, triggering fears of massive lay-offs among workers.

One of Foxconn's key customer was Nokia, which suspended operations from November. Nokia's plant, which employed around 8,000 workers directly and another 21,000 indirectly, had to shut its plant following a tax dispute that prevented its transfer to Microsoft which bought the Finnish company's handset business early this year.