Strike at Nokia's Chennai plant hits production — newspaper

Production at Nokia's factory in Chennai has been hit after workers began a strike demanding higher pay, Business Standard reported today.

The newspaper said the strike began yesterday 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 that 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 that mobile handset production at the India plant had crossed the 350 million mark over its four years of operation.