The four-day-long strike by the workers for the reinstatement of 63 of their suspended employees at the Nokia factory at Sriperumbudur (near Chennai in Tamil Nadu) ended on 22 January 2010 after mediation by the Joint Labour Commissioner, Chennai. Even after the end of the strike, the stalemate between the workers and the management continued over issues of wages, etc., which were also the reasons for the 10-hour strike in August 2009.

This time, the strike was declared on 19 January 2010, following the suspension of an employee, who had protested on being transferred to a different department without any intimation. The workers claim that the human resource manager, when approached, threatened them with suspension if they challenged the transfer orders. The workers protested against this and 63 workers were suspended by 20 January 2010. The company charged the suspended employees of serious misconduct and breach of company rules. The Joint Labour Commissioner had, on 20 January 2010, issued an advisory to the Nokia workers` union to return to work and had asked the management to solve the issue by 25 January.

The strike was spearheaded by the Nokia India Employees Progressive Union, which is affiliated to DMK`s Labour Progressive Front. Of the 12 office bearers of the union, 9 had been suspended. Whereas the management has agreed to take back the suspended workers in phases, the union demanded that it take all the workers back at once. The workers also wanted that no penal action be taken against the suspended or the agitating workers. General Secretary of the union, P. Suresh and, President M. Shanmugam, told the media, “The management has assured us in the conciliatory meetings that it will take back the suspended employees.”

According to the union, more than 3,500 workers took part in the strike (though the management figures are considerably lower). The company maintained its stance that the strike was illegal because it had been called without any notice to the company. A press release of the company said, “The issue has been resolved through mutual dialogue and to the satisfaction of all parties involved.” The release also stated that the company has initiated enquiry proceedings against some of the suspended workers.

The company employs around 8,000 workers in the plant, including the permanent, the casuals and the trainees, and, according to various sources, has a capacity of producing 5,00,000 phones a day—the highest in the country. About 70 per cent of the workforce is female. Even after an agreement was reached between the workers and the management, the non-union workers continued agitating till the 25 January 2010. The company stated that it was able to meet the supply requirements through its international production network.