CHENNAI: Employees of Foxconn, the latest of the electronic manufacturers to shut shop in Sriperumbudur following Nokia’s closure, continued their protest on Monday after the third round of talks held with the company at the Office of the Assistant Commissioner of Labour on Friday failed.
The 150-odd employees who showed up on a rainy Monday were removed from the spot by the police, after they tried to break into the facility. Foxconn, which was a major supplier to the Nokia plant at Sriperumbudur, halted production on December 22 stating that they had no orders in hand. They also told their 1,700 employees that while their salaries would be paid until a proper settlement is reached, they no longer needed to come to the plant.
Representatives of the Foxconn India Employees Union, though, started protesting almost immediately following the announcement. The first attempt to break into the plant on December 23 was thwarted by the police who detained the employees and released them later that evening.
While the next few days saw a brief lull in the protests, the failure of Friday’s talks resulted in renewed protests. “We demand that the plant be kept open,” said president of the union A Soundararajan. “But the company refused to consider our request. So, we will continue protesting,” he said.
According to police sources, they detained the employees immediately as a preventive measure and for unlawful assembly. “They will be released soon,” police said.