Foxconn informs union it would suspend Chennai operations from Dec 22

The company has so far sent around 1,000 workers on leave with salary

Electronics manufacturer Foxconn has informed its workers they do not have to come to the factory in Sriperumbudur for work from December 22 as the company was planning to suspend operations.

According to the workers, the company so far has sent around 1,000 workers on leave with salary from a total 1,700 employees.

In a tripartite meeting held between the company management, workers union and the labour officials in the office of assistant commissioner of labour (ACL) today morning, the company conveyed workers can take leave entitled with salary from December 22 itself, though its earlier decision was to suspend operations from December 24. It also conveyed to the workers it was ready to discuss settlement issues.

“The company is saying workers do not have to come from Sunday onwards and the salaries would be paid. They did not say how long will they pay salaries without the operations in the factory. They also said they were ready to speak about settlement, which we did not agree with,” said Muthukumar, president of the CITU-backed employees union, which is recognised by the management.

However, the union has informed the company that workers would continue to go for work even after December 22. The next tripartite meeting is to be held on December 26.

While the labour department has advised Foxconn for any decisions related to labour in a company with more than 100 workers, it requires the consent of the department and the company cannot do anything without this, in the meeting held on December 12, Muthukumar alleged the company went ahead and had sent more people on leave.

“While around 650 people have been on leave when the meeting was held last time, it had gone up to 1,000 now. There are around 300 workers and another 400 employees in other departments. The company is not abiding by the advise of the labour department,” he alleged.

The company earlier informed the union that it would send the workers on leave in two batches, one on December 17 and the rest on December 23, as it was planning to suspend its operations in the facility owing to poor order status.

However, the union did not agree to the proposal and demanded they will continue in the job.

According to Muthukumar, while there were around 8,000 workers in the facility earlier, it had come down to 1306 workers now.

The company claims after the suspension of operations of Nokia India's mobile handset manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur, business has declined and efforts to bring in new business have not been successful. It is in this backdrop the company had suggested to send the workers on leave.

Earlier in December, FIH Mobile Limited said, "We can confirm that our India operation, FIH India Private Limited, will be suspending all operations at our manufacturing facility in Chennai effective December 24, 2014. This 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, the company added.