Foxconn employees plan to intensify protest

Employees of electronic parts manufacturer Foxconn, who have been resorting to various kinds of protest moves over the past few weeks, are now planning to further intensify their agitation to force the management to reopen the facility.
They have decided to meet again on January 31 to decide about their future course of action.
The employees have been seeking the state government's attention towards the suspension of production at Foxconn India's facility at Sriperumbudur near here.
Trouble at the manufacturing facilities of Foxconn began from December 22, 2014, after it decided to suspend production. Fearing job losses the employees have been resorting to agitations since then. Six round of tripartite talks have so far been held, but there has been no breakthrough as employees have been insisting that the plant be reopened.

The employees were staging forced entry into the manufacturing facility demanding the reopening of the plant and also took out a procession at District Collectorate office in Kancheepuram, seeking the State government's support.
"We conducted one day token fast on January 27. There has been no support for us from the State government so far. Even in the meeting held, management has made it clear it will not reopen the facility", Foxconn India Employees Union President E Muthu Kumar told PTI today.

Pointing out that the token fast was conducted to garner the Government's support as most of the employees would become jobless, he said, "we have planned to meet again on January 31 to decide our next course of action".

In a notice to employees, Foxconn had offered Voluntary Retirement Scheme or severance package as part of suspending production. The company was supplying more than 70 per cent of parts to telecom major Nokia, which had suspended production from November 1, 2014.
Following Nokia's exit from Sriperumbudur, production dwindled at Foxconn's manufacturing facilities, which led to suspension of production at its unit.