As Samsung strike enters second month, ruling DMK faces alliance heat, Tamil Nadu police detain union leaders

The constabulary enactment came up of the sojourn of apical leaders of DMK’s confederation partners, including Congress, CPI(M), CPI, MDMK, and VCK, to the protestation tract connected Wednesday.

When the protestation started successful aboriginal September, it was a captious clip for Chief Minister M K Stalin, who was connected a US circuit to woo planetary investments. The DMK prides itself connected Tamil Nadu’s business-friendly environment, but the timing of the protestation by a DMK state – conscionable arsenic Stalin was signing deals overseas – was seen by galore successful the enactment arsenic a betrayal by the CITU and CPM, which has agelong supported the Stalin government.

Samsung India has, meanwhile, been reluctant to prosecute with the CITU, ostensibly spooked by caller developments beyond India’s borders. In July, Samsung Electronics faced unrest astatine its Seoul plant, wherever much than 6,500 workers went connected onslaught demanding amended wage and moving conditions. According to reports, rumours of North Korean communist engagement had spooked management, fostering a cautious attack to unionisation, peculiarly successful communist-linked labour protests.

The company’s stance successful Tamil Nadu was clear: they would negociate straight with workers, but not with extracurricular leaders heading the CITU. The company, which started the works successful 2007 and has not faced specified an contented before, besides has concerns that allowing CITU a foothold successful Sriperumbudur could make ripple effects astatine different plants.

Meanwhile, a petition for the registration of the commercialized national was stopped by the authorities government, forcing CITU to attack the Madras High Court.

On Monday, talks led by 3 elder ministers, representing labour, MSME, and industries ministries, fell flat, adjacent arsenic Samsung agreed connected accrued wages and immoderate further benefits, and the authorities claimed that a colony had been reached.

“Samsung India contiguous signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the workmen committee of its Chennai factory… We are cognizant of the Tamil Nadu government’s efforts to extremity the amerciable onslaught and are thankful to the authorities for their changeless support,” their spokesperson said afterwards.

However, CITU president A Soundararajan said the workers who signed the memorandum connected Monday were a fewer who weren’t portion of the strike. He besides reiterated that the onslaught volition proceed until the halfway request of designation of a national is met.

On Wednesday, Soundararajan and CITU Kancheepuram territory caput Muthukumar were among those taken into custody by the police. In an denotation of the schism wrong the ruling alliance, VCK main Thol Thirumavalavan arsenic good arsenic CPI and CPM leaders visited them successful constabulary custody.

A DMK person told The Indian Express that portion Monday’s talks “weren’t a implicit failure”, “those who rushed to state the contented resolved were overambitious and lacked acquisition successful commercialized national negotiations”.

Another elder DMK person said the enactment should person intervened sooner. “Top officials, including Chief Secretary N Muruganandam, 1 of the officers who played a cardinal relation successful attracting investments to Tamil Nadu successful caller years, decided to hold and see, hoping that the institution would travel retired with a solution,” the person said.

A apical authorities authoritative besides agreed, “We kept talking to the company, not the workers.”

Another authoritative said that portion the CITU’s “aggressive stance” further analyzable matters, idiosyncratic from the DMK “ought to person picked up the telephone alternatively of depending connected indirect channels”.

Allegations person besides emerged of the authorities constabulary profiling protesting workers and taking photos of their IDs. “When the authorities lacks a connection and strategy to speech to protesters, it falls backmost connected bureaucracy, which leads to profiling and threats,” said a CPI leader.

Meanwhile, the CITU has decided to grow the strike, calling for a one-day token onslaught connected October 21 crossed the bluish concern region.

Official sources besides said a cardinal hurdle successful the dialog is the workers’ request to recognise Muthukumar, an outsider, arsenic the national leader. However, helium said, “Management has nary authorization to dictate who represents the labour force… I americium the lone communist here, but CITU is simply a non-communist organisation successful this case, with enactment from each parties. The onslaught is not astir communism.”