BUSINESS
The Samsung India Workers’ Union (SIWU) has submitted a charter of demands, including a wage hike, and has requested a written response from Samsung management as part of the agreement to end their 38-day strike. In a general body meeting held on the outskirts of Chennai on Wednesday, over 1,200 SIWU members voted unanimously to end the strike and resume work immediately. “The workers are jubilant and eager to get back to work,” A Soundararajan, state president of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), which is backing SIWU, told FE. Soundararajan, who also serves as the honorary president of SIWU, emphasised that ending the strike depends on Samsung management honoring the commitments made during a tripartite meeting held earlier. The tripartite conciliation meeting on Tuesday included the State government’s labour department, Samsung management, and SIWU representatives. Key proposals from this meeting included the immediate end of the strike, with Samsung agreeing not to take punitive action against the workers who participated in the strike. Soundararajan noted that Samsung must provide a written response to the union’s charter of demands by November 7, ahead of the next conciliation meeting. “If they fail to do so, the issue will go back to the government or court, though we don’t expect that to be necessary,” he added. As per trade union sources, the charter of demands reportedly includes a wage hike, a reduction to a 7-hour working day with a 5-day work week, and an increase in paternity leave from three to seven days. Soundararajan declined to specify whether the demand for union recognition—a key point of contention—was included in the charter. He clarified that while union recognition remains a demand, it was not a precondition for ending the strike. “Recognition is secondary. The primary condition is that they engage with us. If they respond to our charter of demands, it means they have started to engage.” Soundararajan also highlighted that Samsung has historically maintained a ‘no union’ policy worldwide, making the establishment of a union in India a notable achievement. A source familiar with the conciliation process told FE that the government facilitated a resolution by keeping the union recognition issue out of the discussions, as it remains under legal review. “The matter is sub-judice, and we made it clear to workers that there’s no attempt to circumvent the law or delay union recognition,” the source added. While the workers and CITU initially resisted, they became more receptive to negotiations after intervention from four state ministers and Left party members. “The workers wanted written assurance from management that no action would be taken against them, but Samsung was reluctant to provide anything in writing,” the official said, adding that the Industries Minister had to personally convince the management to provide a written statement. Samsung management also sought a written statement that workers won’t take any ‘confrontational’ approach against the management upon returning to work. A state government source said during the latest round of conciliation workers felt there was little incentive to continue the strike, having already lost a month’s salary while Samsung suffered production losses during the peak festive season. Samsung Electronics had earlier informed workers, who had been on strike since September 9, that they would not be paid for the strike period. Soundararajan also confirmed that the ‘no work, no pay’ rule applied during the strike. Last week, Samsung Electronics India signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with a Workmen Committee, offering various incentives, including a monthly ₹5,000 ‘Productivity Stabilization Incentive’ from October 2024 to March 2025, expanding air-conditioned bus routes from five to 108, and providing ₹1 lakh in immediate assistance in case of a worker’s death. However, the CITU-backed union rejected the MoA, arguing that the Workmen Committee did not represent all workers. A SIWU representative confirmed that workers would return to work on Thursday. Samsung did not respond to an email query regarding the charter of demands and its next steps. None
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