Industries Minister meets officials from Samsung to discuss ongoing protest

Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Industries T.R.B. Rajaa on Sunday met representatives from Samsung Electronics to discuss the ongoing workers’ strike.

After the meeting, he posted on X (formerly Twitter): “I met Samsung’s management today, and had discussions to swiftly resolve the issue. We are confident that Samsung’s management and its employees will come together and arrive at an amicable solution that benefits everyone involved.”

Minister for Labour Welfare C.V. Ganesan told The Hindu that efforts were being made to resolve the issue, and a meeting was scheduled for Monday.

The Minister indicated that the Chief Minister would be apprised of the details of the discussions. “Few years ago, there was a protest by the employees of Foxconn and the State government immediately intervened. As a result of this, the State built an industrial housing facility that can accommodate over 18,000 workers. Similarly, we will solve this issue too,” the Minister said.

‘Meeting with officials’

Confirming that there will be a meeting on Monday, E. Muthukumar, Kancheepuram district secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), who has been spearheading the protest, said, “This is a meeting with company officials, not with the Ministers designated [to resolve the issue]...”

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had designated Mr. Rajaa, Mr. Ganesan, and MSME Minister T.M. Anbarasan to hold talks with the stakeholders and resolve the protest.

The workers have been protesting at Samsung’s plant in Sriperumbudur since September 9, demanding recognition of the newly formed Samsung India Workers’ Union. This plant has around 1,800 workers, of whom 1,000 are on strike. Established in 2007, the Sriperumbudur facility is one of Samsung’s two manufacturing plants in India.

Published - October 07, 2024 12:50 am IST