Samsung dispute: Union threatens march towards plant

CHENNAI: The Samsung labour union has decided to march towards the consumer electronics giant's manufacturing facility at Sunguvarchatram on Friday (March 7) if the talks to be held on Thursday fails to resolve the dispute. Tamil Nadu labour department is holding the next round of conciliation talks between Samsung Electronics India and CITU union to resolve the labour dispute ongoing since Feb 5.

“We are ready to work, and we expect Samsung to propose acceptable terms and come to an agreement. If this remains unresolved, then around 1,400 people will march towards the plant premises on a regular basis to urge the company to allow us to work and provide salary starting Friday,” said CITU leader E Muthukumar.

Samsung employees union on Tuesday rejected the proposals by the company to end the dispute, alleging that the management is trying to impose severe conditions including eight day pay cut and apology letters by employees who participated in the protests.

Samsung previously denied all allegations and said it is compliant with the laws. Despite the protests, it said that production remains uninterrupted. Earlier the company appealed to the state govt to ensure workers safety and provide ease of doing business.