Samsung Electronics has failed to resolve wage negotiations again this year, signaling another round of union risks.
The Nationwide Samsung Electronics Workers’ Union, the largest union at Samsung Electronics, announced on March 18 that it formed a labor dispute committee and will start a labor struggle from that day.
The union secured the right to go on strike legally at the Central Labor Commission’s third mediation meeting held on March 14 when a decision was made to suspend the mediation. However, the union put the dispute on hold at the request of management and held another round of negotiations with management on the morning of March 14, but the negotiations were finally broken off.
Labor and management of Samsung Electronics held an ice-breaking meeting in September 2023 and met 10 times for five months for wage negotiations until February 2024. The two sides are far apart. Management raised the basic wage increase offering to 3 percent, up from 2.5 percent, but it fell short of the union’s demand (6.5 percent).
Both sides found big differences in their views on the expansion of the company’s welfare system, too. After the meeting, the union said, “In the last conversation with management, we refused to accept a change in the performance-based bonus system and a leave program to give some rest to employees so we will enter a dispute situation.”
The union will hold a vote on whether or not to take industrial action from the day until April 5. If the majority of the members vote in favor, the union can legally stage the strike. The union also plans to organize a nationwide PR tour to pressure management.
Samsung Electronics has not had a strike in the past 55 years since its foundation in 1969. The union secured the right to strike in 2022 and again in 2023, but did not down tools.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics has seen an uptick in union activities since Chairman Lee Jae-yong announced in 2020 that the company would put an end to its long union-free management. The Korean electronics giant has five unions with the largest union, the Nationwide Samsung Electronics Workers’ Union, having 20,000 members, or 16 percent of the total workforce (124,000 employees). In addition, the four other unions consist of white-collar workers and employees at Gumi plant and employees in the Device Experience Division.