CHENNAI: The standoff between Samsung and CITU is yet to resolve as another round of talks failed on Tuesday. While CITU had initially sought the withdrawal of suspension of the 23 workers, CITU sources said that at the end of the talks, they were willing to send the workers back to the Samsung unit at Sriperumbudur to resume duty if the 23 workers were assured a fair probe and recalled to work at a later date.
“However, Samsung representatives said that all the 1,000 workers will be allowed to join duty only if they submit an apology letter stating that they were responsible for disrupting production and allegedly marching towards the senior management offices on the second floor. This can and will be used against them in future and we cannot accept this demand,” said E Muthukumar, Samsung India Workers Union (SIWU) president.
In addition, the Samsung management has made it clear that while the ‘no work no pay’ rule would apply to the days that the striking workers did not turn up for work, they would additionally deduct eight days of wages since the strike was ‘illegal’, sources said. CITU has now decided to continue the protests.
“We said that the workers are willing to rejoin duty and that the 23 workers can be recalled at a later date of their choosing and subjected to a fair domestic inquiry. They also declined to assure us if the 23 workers will be allowed to rejoin at all,” Muthukumar said.
Samsung spokespersons maintained that it has a zero-tolerance policy for any illegal activities by workers that disrupt industrial stability and peace at the workplace.
Samsung also said that the striking workers were only 400-500 in number as opposed to the CITU claims of a 1000.
"Despite our best efforts to arrive at a mutually beneficial agreement through constructive dialogue, the union continues to make unreasonable demands and is changing its position constantly, leading to an impasse in the negotiations.
We uphold a zero-tolerance policy towards illegal acts within the workplace and are committed to maintaininga a safe and productive environment for all," said a Samsung India spokesperson.