:Workers of Samsung Electronics’ Indian unit have decided to end a strike at its factory in Southern India, the company said on Tuesday, without disclosing the settlement terms.
The strike at the plant, backed by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), was the biggest such labour dispute in recent years in the country and has cast a shadow over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive to lure investors to set up local manufacturing.
Samsung India said it welcomes the decision of the CITU to call off the strike at the plant, which employs about 1,800 permanent workers and makes refrigerators, TVs and washing machines.
The company will not take action against the workers who participated in the strike, Samsung India said in a statement late on Tuesday.
More than 1,000 Samsung India workers have held protests close to the factory near the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu since Sept. 9, demanding higher wages and recognition of their union.
The plant is critical to Samsung’s ambitions and accounted for roughly one-fifth of its $12 billion India sales in 2022-23. It is one of Samsung’s two factories in India.
The other one is in Uttar Pradesh state where Samsung makes smartphones, but it has witnessed no labour unrest.
The CITU will make an official announcement on Wednesday, union leader E. Muthukumar told Reuters.
Representatives from both the management and the striking workers participated in the talks, the Tamil Nadu government said in a separate statement.
The management will file a written reply to the charter of demands filed by the workers, the state government said.
Samsung workers earn 25,000 rupees ($300) on average each month and were demanding a raise of 36,000 rupees a month spread over three years, according to the CITU.
Samsung has previously said the average monthly salary of full-time manufacturing workers at the plant
