Salary: Nokia India staff on strike

[Dark Sorrow]

CHENNAI: Production at Nokia's factory in India has been hit after workers began a strike demanding higher pay, the Business Standard reported.

The newspaper said the strike began on Tuesday after employees' talks with the management failed. The facility, near Chennai in south India, caters to local and export markets and employs 8,000 people.

Nokia did not comment on the strike and the reported production loss, but said in a statement the company on Monday discussed a long-term wage settlement with the employees through their trade union.

The company said the wage deal offered to employees was among the highest in the region in similar industries.

Nokia, the world's top cell phone maker, had said in April mobile handset production at the India plant had crossed 350 million handsets over its four years of operations.

 

[amoy]

The company said the wage deal offered to employees was among the highest
++
what's their average wage then? just out of curiosity

 

[Rage]

The company said the wage deal offered to employees was among the highest
++
what's their average wage then? just out of curiosity

About 8,500 Rs. (~ $184) if what I heard in 2008 about wages in that region in that sector are correct.


Per the latest, the strike has ended a lil' while ago:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ia-India-factory-ends/articleshow/6170582.cms

 

[nandu]

Nokia Resumes Production at India Plant

BANGALORE -- The Indian unit of mobile handset maker Nokia Corp. said it has resumed work at its plant in the southern Tamil Nadu state, after resolving a long-pending wage dispute.

A long-term wage settlement agreement will be signed Thursday by the government of Tamil Nadu, representatives of the employees' labor union and the management of Nokia India's manufacturing facility, the company said in a statement late Wednesday.

The Business Standard newspaper, in a report Wednesday, said production at the plant in Chennai was hit following a strike by its employees.

A Nokia India spokesman refused to confirm whether there was a strike, but said there were "some absenteeism."

In a statement Wednesday, the company had urged the union members to refrain from absenteeism at work.

Nokia--which has about 8,000 employees at the plant--has been grappling with labor issues for almost a year now.

In January, operations at the plant was hit by a protest by 1,200 employees against the suspension of 60 employees. Nokia had suspended 60 employees citing misconduct.

The issue was later resolved after talks with its labor union, though the suspension, pending inquiry, stayed.

The company has now offered to revoke the suspension order of all the employees.

In August, employees at the plant had struck work for 10 hours, seeking higher wages.

Production at the Chennai plant--which exports mobile handsets across the globe--had in April crossed 350 million since its inception four year ago.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...0906896.html?mod=WSJINDIA_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews