A Sit-in protest Held by About 500 Samsung India Factory Workers in Latest Dispute

About 500 employees at Samsung's plant in south India are staging a sit-in to protest the suspension of three employees, and the company has deployed contract workers to fill the void.

It was the second major labor dispute in less than six months at the Sriperumbudur plant near Chennai, which manufactures refrigerators, televisions, and washing machines and accounts for one-fifth of Samsung's $12 billion India sales in 2022–23. The factory has around 1,800 employees.

In a statement, Samsung stated that "most of our workers remain dedicated to ensuring that normal business operations continue".

For the time being, there was no impact on production because Samsung had hired contract workers to handle the situation, while the workers who were boycotting work were sitting inside the facility refusing to move.

The union disputed that account, claiming there was some disruption, particularly in the refrigerator-making unit.

Last year, hundreds went on strike for five weeks at the plant, demanding higher wages and union recognition. The strike ended in October when Samsung agreed to meet the workers' demands.

A. Soundararajan, a leader of the Samsung India Workers' Union, stated that the protest would continue because the workers were suspended without being heard for making demands while standing outside the company's administration office.

"Discussions with the government are already under way," he said. Samsung informed employees that they "will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action following a formal enquiry and have been suspended to protect the work environment and other workers". It did not specify what caused the suspension.

"We continue to make efforts towards a collective agreement with our workers to resolve the issues and for this we remain open to a dialogue facilitated by the government," according to Samsung's statement.