WORKERS at Samsung India Electronics’ Sriperumbudur plant, near Chennai, staged a strike that lasted 38 days, beginning on September 9, 2024. This movement resonated not only with workers across India but also inspired labor movements internationally. South Korea based Samsung Electronics, established its Indian subsidiary, Samsung India Electronics Private Limited, in December 1995, starting operations in Noida, near New Delhi, primarily focused on smartphone production. In 2007, the company expanded its operations to include high-tech home appliances at its facility in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.

The Sriperumbudur plant operates with two shifts each day, during which workers face long hours and intense production demands. Reports indicate that workers have a brief turnover time of just 10–15 seconds to complete each product, often enduring stretches of four to five hours of continuous work. Some tasks on the assembly line must be completed within four seconds. Although the official break time is 10 minutes, workers effectively receive only eight minutes, as they must return one minute early and can leave one minute after the break begins.

Despite working for 16 years in core job operations, many employees earn only between Rs 24,000 and Rs 34,000 per month, with minimal salary increments. In stark contrast, their counterparts in South Korea earn approximately Rs 4.55 lakh per month. This pay disparity is particularly striking given that Samsung Electronics India reported revenues of Rs 98,924 crore for the fiscal year 2022–23.

Additionally, issues such as leave, canteen facilities, break rooms, restrooms, and transportation via AC buses are pressing concerns. These matters were highlighted in a so-called Memorandum of Agreement, which the Samsung management signed with a select group of employees, underlining the ongoing precarious working conditions. Workers have also faced mistreatment, with company officials often using derogatory names, leading to feelings of humiliation on the shop floor. Those who dared to raise concerns risked suspension or even summary dismissal. Consequently, many workers felt dehumanized, and there was no effective grievance redressal mechanism in place. Furthermore, no factory department inspections had been conducted, and the labor department remained absent until June 2024.

Given these unbearable and deplorable working conditions, along with a systematic management strategy of surveillance, terminations, wage cuts, and intimidation, workers faced significant obstacles in forming a union, risking their jobs to advocate for better conditions.

Samsung is notorious for its "no-union" policy, with no recognized union present in either of its Indian plants in Noida or Sriperumbudur. However, the situation changed in South Korea in 2021, when the company was compelled to allow union formation at its Seoul plant, enabling formal collective bargaining. This shift was partly driven by a significant reputational loss following the conviction of its former chairman in a high-profile bribery case in 2017, during which prosecutors highlighted labor violations aimed at suppressing unionisation.

On June 16, 2024, nearly 30,000 workers with the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) staged the first recorded strike in Samsung's 86-year history in Seoul. Coincidentally, workers from Samsung India Electronics Private Limited at the Sriperumbudur plant held a General Body (GB) meeting. CITU district secretary E Muthukumar, who has dedicated over a decade to advocating for industrial workers in the region, attended the meeting alongside A Soundararjan, CITU state president and all India vice-president.

During this meeting, the workers formally established a union called the "Samsung India Thozhilar Sangam" (Samsung India Workers Union - SIWU), with E Muthukumar as its President. They passed two key resolutions: one expressing solidarity with the striking workers in Seoul and the other seeking affiliation with CITU. Following the GB decisions, they submitted an application for union registration to the jurisdictional Registrar of Trade Unions in the Tamil Nadu Labour Department on June 26.

The day after, on June 27, 2024, the SIWU submitted a list of its duly elected office-bearers along with a Charter of Demands to Samsung management. Rather than seriously addressing the workers' concerns, the management resorted to various unfair labor practices. They dispatched officials accompanied by hired goons to visit workers’ homes, attempting to persuade them to disassociate from the union and threatening them with termination if they refused. In these efforts, Samsung even involved government village administrative officers (VAOs), but to no avail. Attempts to bribe workers with money also failed.

Samsung officials then adopted a direct strategy to confront workers immediately after each shift, pressuring them to resign from the union. They urged workers not to involve outsiders, claiming that they would not be permitted in the plant. Subsequently, management called a meeting for all workers, but the 1,550 union members boycotted it.

In the meantime, Samsung management formed a company-backed "Workmen Committee" and coerced workers into signing documents to endorse this committee. Despite this pressure, the workers stood firm and resisted. Management also hijacked and confined one office bearer of SIWU, threatening all union leaders with dire consequences if they did not resign, referencing the recent murder of a local BSP leader by goons. Nevertheless, the workers resolutely endured these intimidation tactics, vowing to protect their union from the management's destabilizing efforts.

Given the grave circumstances, on August 19, 2024, the SIWU served a strike notice demanding, among other things, the right to form a union and engage in collective bargaining. This was followed by a conciliation meeting with the labor department, which yielded no remedial measures. Subsequently, union leaders received death threats from hired goons. When they sought protection from the police, they were instead confined at the police station.

Workers found themselves facing a double threat: ruthless anti-union attacks from management and oppressive measures from government agencies, including the police and revenue departments, which were mobilized to support Samsung. They endured simultaneous assaults from both capital and the state. In this dire situation, the working class saw no alternative but to resort to direct strike action to halt production, which began on September 9, 2024. The strike was total.

When the striking workers were barred from assembling at the factory gate, they decided to march to the District Collectorate on September 15, 2024. However, permission for the march was denied, and E Muthukumar, along with 118 others, was arrested. No one knew E Muthukumar's whereabouts. When A Soundarajan rushed to the police station to inquire about him, he too was confined for the entire day. This sparked widespread outrage among the working people of Tamil Nadu, prompting demonstrations in 33 districts across the state in response to these authoritarian tactics.

In light of these anti-democratic actions, all central trade unions convened to hold a demonstration in Chennai on September 18, where they were subsequently arrested by the Chennai City Police.

As this heroic struggle gained momentum and drew attention to the global brand Samsung, it attracted the interest of both supporters and adversaries. The CITU Tamil Nadu state committee launched a wide range of solidarity actions, including postering, picketing, collecting solidarity strike funds, and physically standing with the striking workers. On October 1, 2024, over ten thousand CITU cadres and leaders participated in militant picketing, resulting in arrests across 38 districts. On October 5, leaders from the Left Parties, including CPI(M) state secretary K Balakrishnan, were arrested while attempting to demonstrate in support of the striking Samsung workers.

K Hemalata, CITU President, and Sudip Dutta, national secretary, visited the strike site to express their solidarity. As the struggle continued, CITU ramped up its outreach efforts to the broader public. On October 9, Tamil Nadu transport workers spread out to bus stands, campaigning among travelers and raising around two lakh rupees in a single day. Similarly, on October 15, all CITU district committees conducted a fundraising drive, collecting Rs 4,11,250 from the public and industrial workers.

In total, approximately Rs 25 lakh has been raised, with a significant portion contributed by mass organisations and middle-class employee groups. Industrial workers across the Oragadam and Sriperumbudur areas engaged in continuous solidarity programs, including boycotting canteens and holding dharnas and demonstrations at their factory gates. The legal teams of CPI(M) and CITU played a vital role throughout this struggle, providing invaluable support.

After a month-long struggle, on October 15, 2024, four ministers from the state government held separate discussions with the union and management. Following these talks, the state labor department provided an "agreed advice." Given that the issue of union registration is currently pending before the Madras High Court, the Tamil Nadu government pledged to adhere to the court's directions. Regarding the Conciliation of Disputes (CoD), management agreed to provide a written response to the relevant conciliation officer and to follow the proper legal procedures for conciliation. Additionally, it was assured that no worker would face penalties for participating in the strike.

As a result, the 38-day indefinite strike was called off on October 16, following a unanimous decision by the special general body meeting. On the morning of October 17, workers returned to the factory with the hope of resuming their duties, but work did not resume. Instead, all 1,500 workers were divided into ten groups of 150, each required to undergo a "training" or "reorientation" programme for one week. Paradoxically, it was reported that an external professional team was instructing workers not to allow outsiders in union leadership.

The question of trade union registration at the Samsung plant is primarily a matter between the trade union and the Tamil Nadu government, in which Samsung management has no standing. However, it appears that the government is facilitating the company's involvement in the High Court case, where they are objecting to the inclusion of the word "Samsung" in the union's name. The case is scheduled for the next hearing on November 11, 2024. In the meantime, CITU has submitted a complaint to the ILO regarding violations of core conventions 87 and 98, which pertain to the rights to unionise and engage in collective bargaining. The struggle against the injustices of capitalism continues.