By IANS,
Chennai: A day after employees staged a sit-in in front of the Nokia India plant here, the management Saturday agreed to discuss their demands, including a higher wage hike than they were offered.
A union official said a reconciliatory meeting between employees representatives and company officials ended amicably Saturday and workers would submit a charter of demands next week.
“We will submit our charter of demands on August 21 to the company management. On August 24, it will be discussed at a meeting at the labour commissioner’s office,” the official told IANS.
The Nokia unit here makes 600 mobiles per minute.
Not happy with the salary hike they were offered, workers at the plant struck work Friday.
The strike was called off in the evening after labour commissioner called for a conciliation meeting Saturday.
The company offered a Rs.1,400 hike in the monthly salary, which union officials say is too low.
There are around 5,600 workers, including trainees, in Nokia India of which nearly 65 percent are women. A worker with two-and-a-half years experience receives a gross monthly salary of Rs.4,900.
“In 2008, wages were revised upwards by just Rs.500. Of all Nokia’s plants around the world, the Indian unit has the highest productivity,” the official pointed out.