More than a thousand workers at the Chennai branch of the smartphone manufacturer in Tamil Nadu have been continuing a peaceful demonstration since the beginning of September, demanding better wages and recognition by the company of the Samsung India Workers Union-Indian Center of Trade Unions (SIWU-CITU).

Tensions erupted Wednesday around the Sunguvarchathram plant on the outskirts of Chennai, when police detained about 10 union representatives and dismantled the tent where protesters are staging a peaceful sit-in, according to news reports.

The incident came a day after political leaders, including those from the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party, visited the plant to support the workers.

According to sources at the site, the protesters are part of the SIWU-CITU, formed in July, but which does not have the recognition of the company’s management, despite the fact that the nation’s labor law requires registration of a union within 45 days of its formation.

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