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cailianshe news, september 16 (editor: liu rui)a massive strike at a samsung factory in southern india has been going on for days since september 10 as workers protested low wages. on monday, the strike escalated and 104 workers were detained by police.

samsung workers arrested in india over protest march

samsung's home appliance factory in chennai, tamil nadu, has been on strike since last tuesday (september 10). thousands of workers have been protesting in a makeshift tent near the factory for days, demanding higher wages, recognition of unions supported by the labor organization center of indian trade unions (citu), and improved working hours.

but over the past few days, samsung has been reluctant to recognize any labor-backed union and has not offered any solutions in negotiations with workers and state officials.

the strike action escalated on monday. senior local police officer k. shanmugam said the factory workers planned to start a protest march on monday, but were detained because they did not get a permit as there are schools, colleges and hospitals in the area.

indian officials said 104 striking workers at the plant were detained by police as they planned to march on wednesday without permission.

will the strike action expand nationwide?

according to reports, the samsung factory where the strike occurred has about 1,800 workers, of which more than 1,000 participated in the strike. the factory produces appliances such as refrigerators, televisions and washing machines. the workers' strike in the past few days has caused production disruptions at the factory. about one-third of samsung's $12 billion annual revenue in india comes from the products of this factory.

it is worth mentioning that the factory where the strike took place is located in southern india, while there was no unrest at another samsung smartphone factory in uttar pradesh, india.

however, the centre of indian trade unions (citu), which supports the strike, said:they have planned to expand the strike action to the electronics industry across the country.

the protests against samsung have cast a shadow over prime minister narendra modi's plans to attract foreign investors to participate in "make in india" and triple electronics production to $500 billion in six years.