THE electronics giant Samsung is South Korea’s largest "chaebol," a term that refers to family-owned conglomerates. In 2022, Samsung's revenue accounted for 22.4 per cent of the country’s GDP, underscoring its unparalleled influence on South Korea's economy and politics. However, South Korea’s current economic prosperity, which relies significantly on conglomerates like Samsung, carries a legacy of authoritarian management practices and a history of labor rights suppression, along with strained industrial relations.

In 2007, Samsung established a manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, marking one of the two factories it operates in India. This plant produces a range of flagship consumer electronics and home appliances, including the luxury QLED TVs, The Frame lifestyle TV, the innovative Curd Maestro Refrigerators, AI-powered Ecobubble Washing Machines with a bilingual user interface, and WindFree ACs. Additionally, some of these cutting-edge digital appliances are exported to international markets. The Sriperumbudur plant is a significant contributor to Samsung's annual revenue in India, accounting for approximately 20-30 percent of the company’s $12 billion earnings in the country.

Since entering the Indian market in 1995, Samsung has solidified its leadership position with two manufacturing facilities-one in Noida (UP), near New Delhi, and another in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai. The company also operates five R&D centers and one design center across the country. This extensive infrastructure is supported by a robust network of over 200,000 retail outlets and more than 3,000 customer service points.

The Sriperumbudur plant employs 1,810 permanent workers, including 40 women, along with 370 recently recruited contract workers. Despite 16 years of service, the salaries of these employees range from Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000, while their counterparts in Korea earn approximately Rs 4.55 lakhs per month. Additionally, the working hours often exceed the statutory limit of eight hours.

Workers have reported that production targets are fixed, and if they cannot meet these goals within one shift, they are required to work overtime for two to three hours. As a result, employees often work between 10 to 11 hours each day, particularly during peak production periods. Additionally, they feel unable to decline overtime when demand is high. One worker noted, “When the daily work plan is created, it is based on nine hours rather than eight. We are expected to complete our tasks on time, or we must stay late. To avoid paying us for overtime, supervisors sometimes have us clock out one or two minutes before the hour is up, preventing us from recording the extra hours we work.” Consequently, the work plan becomes increasingly demanding, making it difficult to discuss taking leave.

Given the precarious working conditions-characterized by low wages, long hours, and a lack of grievance redressal mechanisms-workers attempted to form a union, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Finally, on June 16, 2024, they held a general body meeting coinciding with an indefinite strike by their Korean counterparts at the Seoul plant. E Muthukumar, the CITU district secretary of Kanchipuram, who has been instrumental in leading various local struggles, was invited to the meeting. As a result, the Samsung India Workers Union was established, with E Muthukumar serving as its president.

The irony is that, despite democratic and constitutional framework regarding trade union rights, Samsung has been permitted to establish one of the largest manufacturing bases in India while openly declaring a "no-union policy." This stance implies a disregard for any labour laws enacted by the sovereign Indian parliament or state legislatures.

It is important to consider Clause 6 of the 2015 Apprentice Trainee letter, which states: “You shall not at any time engage in or be concerned with, or be interested directly or indirectly in any business or activity other than that of the company... the company being the sole judge thereof.” This language clearly reflects the management culture of the company, as it explicitly prohibits workers from joining any social organizations without permission and restricts them from engaging in activities beyond their work for the company.

These tactics may help explain how Samsung Electronics has remained union-free in Sriperumbudur, even during a time when unionization efforts have seen some success in the region. Furthermore, the company is known for its notoriety for its aggressive union-busting practices and unfair labor conduct.

After 16 years of enduring challenging conditions, Samsung workers promptly applied for union registration with the Tamil Nadu labour department and presented their charter of demands to management. However, the registration application has been pending with the government for unclear reasons, and Samsung management has refused to acknowledge the union's existence.  This situation led to historic indefinite strike.

The Samsung workers have been on indefinite strike since September 9, 2024, in Sriperumbudur, near Madras, where the first Indian trade union, the Madras Labour Union (MSU), was established in 1918. They are demanding fundamental democratic rights, including the right to form a union. This movement echoes historical events from the British colonial period, which ultimately led to the enactment of the Indian Trade Union Act of 1926. This legislation provided a legal framework for the formation of trade unions in India, marking a significant step toward workers' rights.

Furthermore, after independence, Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution of India guaranteed Indian citizens the right to form associations and unions. This right is essential to the very fabric of democracy; without it, political parties cannot be established, and a democratic government cannot function effectively, let alone trade unions. Therefore, forming a trade union is a legal activity in India. But, Samsung, a South Korean multinational corporation, has labeled this right as “illegal,” reflecting the troubling alignment of Indian political establishments with global capital.

Despite a series of threats and intimidations-including wage cuts, dismissals, and arrests-the resilient spirit of the workers remains unbroken. The Tamil Nadu police and revenue administrations in Kanchipuram and Chennai districts have been effectively mobilised to support Samsung's management. Homes of striking workers are facing intense surveillance from hired goons, creating an atmosphere of fear. Yet, the indomitable spirit of the striking workers persists, and solidarity movements are gaining momentum throughout Tamil Nadu.

In the new international division of labor shaped by global value chains, many industries find themselves trapped at the lower ends of these chains, where labor is ruthlessly exploited to maximise profits for transnational corporations.  Resultantly, only a small fraction of the profits generated stays within the country; the majority is siphoned off to foreign entities. A significant portion of these profits is captured by transnational corporations due to their monopolistic control over essential technologies and key components.

In the name of enhancing competitiveness to attract investments and the flexibility demanded by employers, the rights and lives of workers must not be sacrificed. This is the essence of the valiant struggle of the Samsung workers at the Sriperumbudur plant in Tamil Nadu. There is need to unite to build widespread solidarity actions that support this heroic fight. This struggle will be remembered as a powerful saga of resistance against the exploitative practices of neo-colonial multinational corporations.