Tamil Nadu: Why hundreds of Samsung workers are protesting in India

About 1500 workers in Tamil Nadu state have been striking work for the past 11 days.

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The plant in Chennai city, one of Samsung's two factories in India, employs nearly 2,000 workers and produces home appliances, contributing about a third to the company's annual $12bn (£9bn) revenue in India.

The striking workers gather at a plot of land near the 17-year-old factory daily, demanding that Samsung recognise their newly-formed labour union - the Samsung India Labour Welfare Union (SILWU). They say that only a union can help them negotiate better wages and working hours with the management.

The protest, one of the largest Samsung has seen in recent years, comes even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been courting foreign investment by positioning India as a viable alternative to China for manufacturing activities.

Samsung India has released a statement saying that the welfare of its workers was its top priority. "We have initiated discussions with our workers at the Chennai plant to resolve all issues at the earliest,” it said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7488w85n00o

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