India: Samsung sues labour union over strike as pay dispute escalates

Samsung Electronics' Indian unit has sued members of a labour union that has led a strike for 11 days at its only India home appliances plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, escalating tensions with its workers, legal papers show.

Samsung's lawsuit dated September 12, which Reuters is the first to report, asks a district court in the state for a temporary injunction to restrain the union and its members from agitating, sloganeering and making speeches in and around the factory located near Chennai.

Lawyers were gathered in a court, near Chennai, in Kancheepuram district, where the case was expected to be heard on Thursday.

Hundreds of Samsung workers have since September 9 disrupted work and protested in a nearby makeshift tent, demanding higher wages and recognition of a union at the plant that contributes roughly a third of Samsung's annual India revenue of $12 billion.

The Samsung protests have cast a shadow over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to court foreign investors to "Make in India" and to triple electronics production to $500 billion in six years.

Samsung's 14-page court filing, which is not public, said the union's actions "could disrupt the factory's operations and prevent willing employees from fulfilling their duties".

Such activities "are likely to escalate, endangering the smooth functioning of the factory and the safety of its employees," Samsung said.

Samsung did not respond to a request for comment. Last week, it told Reuters in a statement it had initiated discussions with workers at the plant "to resolve all issues at the earliest".

The labour unrest is among the biggest such strikes in recent years in India.

In its lawsuit, Samsung has sued top officials of the influential labour group, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), which has mobilised the company's workers. Samsung is not keen to recognise any union backed by a national labour group, and talks with workers and state officials have not yielded a resolution.

CITU leader E. Muthukumar told Reuters the workers are "lawfully striking", adding they will challenge Samsung's assertions in court.

Indian police briefly detained more than 100 protesting workers as they were planning a march on Monday without permission.

The strike adds to Samsung's challenges in India. Samsung is planning job cuts of up to 30% of its overseas staff in some divisions, including in India. And India's antitrust body has found Samsung and other smartphone companies colluded with e-commerce giants to launch devices exclusively, violating competition laws, Reuters has reported.

The Samsung plant employs roughly 1,800 workers and more than 1,000 of them have been on strike. The factory makes appliances such as refrigerators, TVs and washing machines. Another Samsung plant that makes smartphones in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh has had no unrest.