With the indefinite strike by workers at the Samsung plant on Chennai’s outskirts nearing the fifth week to press for trade union right, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, MK Stalin, on Saturday tasked three ministers to resolve the issue and bring to an end the ongoing protest.

The ministerial team, comprising TRB Rajaa (Industries), CV Ganesan (Labour) and TM Anbarasan (Rural Industries), is slated to hold talks with the workers and the Samsung management on Monday. The plant is located at Sunguvarchatram in Kancheepuram district and Anbarasan is the District Secretary of the ruling DMK.

Over 1500 workers of the South Korean technology giant are continuing their strike demanding that the CITU-affiliated union – Samsung India Labour Welfare Union – be recognised for collective bargaining of wage revision, and rationalisation of working hours. The 17-year-old factory, one of two of Samsung in the country with 2000 workers on its roll, is manufacturing home appliances. The strike is one of the largest the multinational company has seen in recent years. It has erupted at a time when the CM is making efforts to woo foreign investment to make the state a one trillion dollar economy by 2030.

Stalin deputing the trio to hold talks comes in the wake of pressure from the DMK’s allies, the CPI(M), CPI, Marumalarchi DMK of Vaiko and others. Earlier in the day, CPI(M) state secretary K Balakrishnan, his CPI and CPI(M-L) counterparts, R Mutharasan and Pazha Asaithambi, were detained along with party workers and supporters for holding a demonstration in the city to express solidarity with the Samsung workers, whose family members too have joined the protest at Sunguvarchatram.

“The DMK government and the police are acting in support of Samsung. The CM should not give rise to the view among the people that the government is refusing to ensure the legitimate rights of the workers. If the people have to remain slaves of MNCs, how will you protect the rights of Tamil Nadu?” said Balakrishnan, speaking on the occasion. He and other leaders criticised the police for denying permission for the protest.

Previous talks to end the deadlock have failed with Samsung maintaining that while the company is prepared for a union by the workers, it is opposed to union backed by a third party. “The striking workers are firm in continuing the stir till their demands are met. Over 90 per cent of the workers are with the CITU-affiliated new union,” says CITU Tamil Nadu president, A Soundararajan, a former MLA. He also alleged that the management was pressurising the workers to leave the new union. Their families too are threatened, he added. According to CITU, the workers, earning around Rs 25000 per month, are demanding a staggered hike of 50 percent in their salaries.

On its part, Samsung, in a statement issued earlier had denied forcing workers to work for more hours and threatening their families to disrupt the ongoing strike. It has maintained that ‘workers welfare is a top priority’. However, the protesting workers continue their strike under a makeshift tent close to the factory.