Hundreds of workers at a Samsung Electronics plant in southern India continued their strikes into the second day on Tuesday, effectively disrupting production at the facility.
About half of the factory’s daily production was affected when workers refrained from work Monday demanding a spike in salaries and improved work hours.
Samsung based in the Republic of Korea employs under 1,800 workers at its Sriperumbudur plant near the city of Chennai which makes refrigerators and washing machines. Around half of the daily production was affected at the factory as many workers did not turn up for work, Reuters reported.
Posters saying “Indefinite Strike” were seen outside the factory near Chennai city, and hundreds of workers dressed in company sat outside the plant demanding higher salaries and better working hours.
Samsung India noted that the strikes will not cause any disruption to their customers, and they plan to actively engage with “workers to address any grievances they may have and comply with all laws and regulations,” a spokesperson said.
Union leader E. Muthukumar told Reuters “the strike will continue for a third day” on Wednesday. So far, Muthukumar said no agreement has been reached during the discussions held on Tuesday with Samsung management.
Samsung’s Southwest Asia CEO, JB Park, and other top executives are visiting the factory to address the ongoing strike. Park, based in Gurugram near New Delhi, oversees Samsung’s operations in India.
India is a key growth market for Samsung. Since its inception in 2007, Sriperumbudur became the second plant that Samsung operates in India, alongside its smartphone manufacturer in Noida in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The strike comes ahead of India’s holiday season when sales increase as consumers are lured by discounts to buy gifts and personal products.
“A strike at this point puts a spanner in Samsung’s production ramp-up ahead of the all-important festive season sales beginning October,” said Prabhu Ram, Vice President at Cybermedia Research.