THE 38-day-long strike by Samsung workers at the Sriperumbudur plant near Chennai is an important class struggle of this century in our country in general, and in Tamil Nadu in particular. The experiences and lessons of this heroic struggle will serve as a beacon for the contemporary working class and all trade unions.

The CITU state committee organised a state-wide picketing and road blockade in solidarity with this struggle, with thousands of workers participating. CPI(M), CPI, VCK, and CPI(ML) jointly conducted a demonstration in Chennai. However, the Tamil Nadu state government denied permission for this demonstration and arrested several Left party leaders, including K Balakrishnan, CPI(M) state secretary; R Mutharasan, CPI state secretary; Thol Thirumavalavan, MP and founder-president of VCK and Asai Thambi of CPI(ML), along with hundreds of Party members.

Employees from the banking and insurance sectors, as well as government employees, also held solidarity demonstrations. Organisations such as AIKS, AIAWU, DYFI, SFI, and AIDWA carried out protests throughout the state. The impact of this struggle transcended borders, with workers in India and across the globe, where Samsung subsidiaries operate, engaging in solidarity actions. This movement thus warrants a deep analysis of its background and a thorough understanding of the contemporary developments that led to its emergence.

The ruling classes of capitalist countries worldwide have been relentlessly implementing neoliberal policies. It would not be an exaggeration to say that these policies have inflicted aggressive exploitation and inhumane assaults not only on workers but also on farmers, agricultural workers, the middle class, and ordinary people at large. In particular, the attacks on the working class have become increasingly ruthless. Neoliberal policies have eroded the rights and welfare benefits won by working people through centuries of valiant struggles and sacrifices.

Wages are being suppressed. Permanent jobs are disappearing, while the more exploitative practices of outsourcing and reliance on voucher workers are becoming more rampant. Workers are being forced to work longer than eight hours a day, and women workers are often compelled to work night shifts. Unbearable workloads, along with the denial of pension rights, medical benefits, and leave entitlements, are being imposed on working people.

These assaults have enraged working people not only across the world but also in India. Wherever Left movements – the red flag movements – are strong, workers have been challenging these repressions and making significant advances in their movements. The regime changes in Sri Lanka and several countries in South America serve as testimony to this

Wherever the Left is weak, such struggles are being crushed more ruthlessly through various repressive measures, which has ultimately led to the capture of power by reactionary right-wing forces, often more notorious than previous oppressive regimes. India serves as a typical example of this tendency. Disillusioned with the Congress government that aggressively pursued neoliberal policies, people voted it out and in that place brought in the reactionary, fascistic, communal regime of the Sangh Parivar.

The neoliberal policies have ushered in significant changes in the political and economic situations of our country, benefiting not only big corporations but also the regional bourgeoisie. This has resulted in a situation where the pre-1990s contradictions between big monopoly capitalists and the regional bourgeoisie have got muted. Consequently, all segments of the Indian bourgeoisie – whether big or small, regional or national – are now defending these policies. Thus, neoliberalism has gained a kind of political consensus across much of the political spectrum, with the Indian Left being the key exception.

The neoliberal policies continue to be pursued aggressively. In situations where the Left is not strong enough to provide a viable alternative, people disillusioned with these policies have removed regional parties that aggressively followed them, only to install other regional parties that perpetuate the same policies.

We can observe this tendency in many North Indian states as well as in Southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu. Taking into account the general neoliberal ecosystem prevailing across the country, the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front government in Kerala has developed an alternative policy framework that is largely insulated from the adverse effects of neoliberal policies so as to reduce the hardships faced by common people and provide relief and remedies, which helped secure our return to power for a record second consecutive term – an unprecedented achievement.

In this political and economic context, we must analyse the struggle of Samsung workers. Samsung is a multinational monopoly conglomerate. In India, under neoliberal prescriptions, it has received various incentives and concessions and has been operating a facility in Sriperumbudur, Kanchipuram district, for the past 16 years. Workers there endure extremely precarious and exploitative conditions, including meagre wages, heavy workloads, and the denial of trade union rights. The AIADMK regime, true to its new class avatar in the neoliberal era, did nothing to address these issues. Similarly, the current DMK government has shown no substantial change in its approach. Frustrated by these conditions, the workers' anger transformed into a movement, culminating in the formation of the Samsung India Workers Union, affiliated with the CITU, to fight for their rights. Seeking relief from their suffering, it was natural for them to turn to the CITU, known for its uncompromising struggle to defend workers' interests and resist the onslaughts of capitalist rule.

 The entire situation was handled carefully by the seasoned CITU state leadership, which has extensive experience in leading numerous historic class struggles. After concretising the charter of demands (CoD) developed from a comprehensive field study conducted by workers themselves, SIWU submitted the same to the management with a request to initiate negotiations. Through various formal trade union activities, the Samsung workers sought to draw management’s attention to their demands, but these efforts did not yield any positive results. After exhausting all options, the workers resorted to an indefinite strike as a last resort. The participation of a majority of workers in the strike underscored their commitment to their demands and their genuine anger against the management.

In the meantime, the Tamil Nadu Labour Department delayed processing the trade union registration application, effectively shelving it without due consideration. Despite workers’ appeals to the Tamil Nadu government, there was no response. Consequently, they approached the Chennai High Court, seeking a directive for the Labour Department to process the application for trade union registration without further delay. The Tamil Nadu government could have intervened from the outset to facilitate fruitful negotiations between the Samsung Workers Union and the management, but it failed to do so, obviously due to pressure from the latter. Instead, the government resorted to repression, closing the door on negotiations. 

The police banned the assembly and meetings of workers in front of the factory gate. They vandalised the makeshift tent erected by the workers, which served as a gathering point for raising collective slogans. In response, the workers rented land as an assembly point, but the police more atrociously seized the tent materials. In addition to these authoritarian measures, the police arrested eight key office bearers of the union. A Soundararajan, former MLA and CITU state president, who was leading the struggle, along with E Muthukumar, president of SIWU, were also arrested. Both leaders were subjected to humiliation, including the confiscation of their mobile phones by the police, a move we never heard of. Further, the police threatened workers against wearing Samsung uniforms at the protest site. Who is responsible for this police high-handedness and for the management's arrogance? The state government took no steps to curtail these blatant anti-labour violations perpetrated by the police.

Meanwhile, Samsung management, known globally for its record of unfair labour practices, opted to engage in union-busting tactics rather than initiating discussions with the majority union in struggle. They created a so-called 'workmen committee' comprising a handful of strike-breakers and announced 'incentives' following discussions with this company-backed group. To make matters worse, three state ministers participated in these 'negotiations' alongside management.

Following these discussions, the Industry Minister (not the Labour Minister) addressed a press conference, announcing that the management had agreed to many demands and that the government would abide by the decision of the High Court regarding union registration. However, the minister offered no explanation as to why the government continued to refuse the registration of the union or why the management declined to engage with the majority union.

In this situation, where Samsung management refused to engage with the majority union, the workers ultimately initiated an indefinite strike. Even after the minister announced the management’s ‘decisions,’ the majority of workers continued their strike with full strength. This left the Tamil Nadu Labour Department with no option but to engage the CITU-led Samsung India Workers Union (SIWU) for discussions with the management. As a result, the government facilitated a negotiation with Samsung management, during which it was agreed that the management would provide a written response to the conciliation officer regarding all the demands raised by SIWU. This marked the first victory for the striking workers, as the management was compelled to acknowledge the existence of SIWU. Additionally, the management agreed that there would be no victimisation or penalisation of workers for participating in the strike, leading SIWU to agree to call off the strike.

Given the grave situation of increasingly virulent activities by communal forces at the centre, which are eroding every federal right of the states, it is essential for the DMK and the Left and democratic forces to work together more cohesively in the coming days. Our questions are simple: should we allow the denial of even the constitutional right to form a union? Should we allow such blatant violations and high-handed excesses by the Tamil Nadu police? No, we firmly say no! In this context, we appeal to the Tamil Nadu government to change such positions, which are antithetical to democratic governance.