Pakka Politics Ep 8: Ft CITU Soundararajan on Labour rights and politics

For the first time in 17 years, employees at Samsung’s Sriperumbudur plant went on strike, demanding their right to form a labour union. The Samsung workers’ strike has sparked a debate on permitting labour unions backed by political parties in multinational companies. At the center of the dispute is the registration of the CITU-affiliated Samsung India Workers Union (SIWU), which the company opposes due to the use of the patented ‘Samsung’ name and the union’s political backing from the CPI(M). Efforts to resolve the strike have led to a standoff, and the police crackdown launched by the Tamil Nadu government was viewed as an attempt to silence the voices of striking employees, drawing widespread criticism. In this episode of Pakka Politics, Shabbir Ahmed speaks with A Soundararajan, General Secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), on labour struggles, rights, and their politics.