Indian police arrest 104 Samsung workers for planning march

The workers had planned to start a protest against low wages at a Samsung appliance factory near Chennai in Tamil Nadu state on September 16, but were detained because the area they planned to protest included schools, colleges and hospitals, police said.

"This is the main area. If there is a protest, it will be completely paralyzed and public security will be lost. We detained them at wedding halls because we cannot gather them all at the police stations," the police said.

Police also arrested one of the workers’ group’s senior leaders, E. Muthukumar, who was leading the protests at Samsung’s plant near Chennai. Police said there was no specific timeline for how long the workers would be detained.

Workers at a Samsung facility talk to union leader E. Muthukumar during a strike demanding higher wages, September 11. Photo: Reuters

The arrests mark an escalation of a strike at a Samsung plant in Tamil Nadu state. Workers have been on strike for a week, demanding higher wages, disrupting production at a facility that accounts for about a third of Samsung’s $12 billion annual revenue in India.

The Samsung protests are undermining Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to attract foreign investors and triple electronics output to $500 billion in six years. Lured by cheap labor, foreign companies are increasingly using India to diversify their supply chains away from China.

Workers have been protesting at a makeshift camp near the plant since last week, demanding higher wages and improved working hours. Negotiations between Samsung and workers and state government officials have failed to produce any resolution.

Samsung did not respond to a request for comment on September 16, but said on September 13 that it had begun discussions with workers at its Chennai base plant “to resolve any issues as soon as possible.”

The Samsung factory employs about 1,800 workers, more than 1,000 of whom went on strike. The factory makes appliances such as refrigerators, TVs and washing machines.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/canh-sat-an-do-bat-104-cong-nhan-samsung-vi-len-ke-hoach-bieu-tinh-post312588.html