Samsung willing to settle wages with workers, rejects talks with 3rd party

Gopalan urged workers to call off "illegal" strike, return to work, and come forward for talks

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Samsung India is willing to sign a long-term wage settlement and negotiate directly with its workers for an amicable resolution of the dispute, the company’s lawyer said on Friday, terming the ongoing employees’ strike at the Sriperumbudur plant “illegal”.

Lawyer Anand Gopalan, who is representing Samsung India in the High Court of Madras and the Kanchipuram District Court, said the company would only negotiate with its workers and not with any third-party leaders.

According to sources, one of the major bottlenecks in the discussion is that Samsung India Workers' Union (SIWU) president E Muthukumar is a veteran trade union leader of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (Citu) and not a company employee.

"The management has conveyed its willingness to sign a long-term wage settlement with the workers. However, Samsung India management will negotiate only with our workers and not with a third party," said Gopalan, as the strike entered the 19th day.

Samsung India management has indicated that it is ready to sit down with the workers in the presence of officials from the labour department. 

"I want to inform you that the ongoing strike is illegal because the conciliation process regarding the workers’ demands is in progress. The workers’ union is unregistered till today. Under such circumstances, the management of Samsung India is justified in imposing appropriate action on the striking workers," Gopalan said.

The management has been patient and is willing to negotiate with the workers directly, he said, adding that Samsung complies with all laws and regulations in India.

"Workers at Samsung’s factory in Tamil Nadu get all statutory benefits and their wages are far higher than what is prescribed by the government for the electronics industry," he said. 

"On behalf of Samsung India management, I am requesting the workers to call off the illegal strike, return to work, and come forward for negotiations with the objective of resolving all the differences in an amicable manner at the earliest," he added.

Nearly 1,500 workers have been on strike at the South Korean group’s plant on the outskirts of Chennai on September 9, demanding higher wages, recognition for their union, and better amenities, among others.