FKMTU Represents 4 Samsung Unions at Talks with Management
The labor and management of Samsung Electronics sat face to face for the first time on Nov. 3. It has been six months since Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong announced the end of Samsung’s longstanding union-free management policy.
The joint negotiation team representing Samsung Electronics' four labor unions held an ice-breaking meeting with the management at the KFTU Building in Yeouido, Seoul, before the first round of collective bargaining talks.
"This is a very important and meaningful time for creating Samsung's new labor-management relations and culture," said Na Ki-hong, head of the Human Resources Team at Samsung Electronics' Management Support Office who attended the meeting. "We hope that both the labor and management will understand each other and create a model of win-win and cooperative labor-management relations while recognizing each other’s importance as partners."
Referring to Lee Kun-hee, the late Samsung Group chairman who passed away on Oct. 25, Kim Man-jae, chairman of the Federation of Korean Metalworkers' Trade Unions (FKMTU) under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), said, "We hope that Samsung will join forces with workers to succeed the late chairman Lee’s will to create a global company."
"We should not forget the tears and dedication of workers who contributed to Samsung Electronics' remarkable growth. The first step towards a world-class 100-year-old company is to look up to workers and recognize labor union activities, so this meeting should be a historic one," Kim stressed.
For the first time, the four labor unions of Samsung Electronics formed a joint negotiation team through the process of selecting their representatives. They are represented by the Federation of Korean Metalworkers' Trade Unions, the umbrella organization for Samsung Electronics’ fourth and largest labor union, at the collective bargaining talks. The other three unions are not affiliated with an umbrella organization.
The one-hour meeting was held in a relatively amicable atmosphere. "The labor and management both showed their willingness to make this negotiation process successful," said Jin Yoon-seok, chairman of the National Samsung Electronics Workers' Union (the fourth union) after the meeting. "We had meaningful talks in a good atmosphere."