Beyond Samsung saga, are global majors facing labour woes in India?

Production at Samsung Electronics’ plant in southern India was disrupted for a second consecutive day as hundreds of workers went on strike demanding higher wages. Employees are pressing for equal pay for those with the same level of experience, Reuters reported, citing multiple employees.

About half of the factory’s production was affected on Monday (September 9) when many workers walked out, and the strike continued into Tuesday (September 10). Workers are also seeking better working hours and official recognition of their union by the company.

Labor unrest in against foreign companies in India

For Samsung, this is a rare episode of labour unrest in the country. However, it does fit into the larger trend of Indian workers, considered cheap labour, standing up for their rights and interests in the face of large multinational corporations that employ them.

In October 2023, workers at General Motors India staged protests after the plant in Maharashtra was acquired by Hyundai Motor India. The protests halted production for five days as workers demanded job security under the new ownership.

In December 2021, Foxconn had to shut down its factory in Tamil Nadu for over three weeks due to protests over workers contracting food poisoning.

Earlier that same year, in May, automakers including Renault-Nissan, Hyundai, and Ford Motor Co shut down operations after workers threatened to or staged protests over covid-related safety concerns.

Contract workers’ frustration over unpaid wages led to Apple supplier Wistron’s Karnataka factory remaining shut for two months from December 2020 to February 2021. The workers had destroyed property, equipment and iPhones.

From roughly two months (November-December 2020), Toyota Motor Corp sporadically halted operations at its Karnataka factory due to protests against the suspension of a worker.

In November 2019, media reports mentioned protests at Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India’s plant in Haryana leading to the facility being closed for 18 days. Protesters said several workers had been forced to go on indefinite leave. The unrest lasted for about five months, even after the plant was re-opened.

Workers fight for fair treatment in global supply chains

In the event of strikes by labour unions and workers, the focus is often on the negatives: the number of days operations remain shut, losses the company makes, how the image of “ease of doing business” is impacted, and such.

However, recent reports about direct or indirect exploitation of Indian workers in multinational companies show how essential it is for workers to unionise and fight for fair treatment.

These examples illustrate it well:

In July 2024, Amazon hit the headlines after workers alleged exploitative work conditions. As many as 1,838 participants alleged dire working conditions at Amazon’s facilities in India. Certain inhuman corporate practices employed at its facilities included not being allowed to take washroom breaks, frequent work-related injuries, and lack of financial support for such injuries.

The workers also complained about issues such as not being allowed to take leave, not being respected at the workplace, and receiving low salaries that barely match the cost of living and basic needs. This information comes from a survey conducted by UNI Global Union.

In 2020, the BBC reported that women working at a Ralph Lauren supplier said they had been forced to stay overnight to complete orders, sometimes demanding them to sleep on the factory floor.

“We don’t get toilet breaks, we don’t get time to drink water on shift. We barely get time to eat lunch,” one woman had told the news outlet.

Workers’ unions allow workers to band together and improve their bargaining power. Labour unions, through strikes and demonstrations, have become an essential tool for Indian workers to push back against these conditions and demand fair treatment.