Not Everyone Happy
Even though Samsung and Hanwha aim to close their “Big Deal” within the first half of this year, they are struggling with some union members, who oppose the consolidation itself.
About 2,300 union members of Samsung Techwin, Samsung Total, Samsung Thales, and Samsung Total Petrochemicals, which are the four corporations up for sale, held a rally called “Samsung Union Members’ Resolution Conference to Change Samsung and the World” at the Samsung headquarters in Seocho, Seoul, on March 7.
Their representative said, “Samsung Group’s Future Strategies Office are just waiting for the union members to become exhausted by manipulating the management and the human resources teams of the four companies. Stop the disposal procedure immediately and engage faithfully in the negotiation with the joint negotiation team, the labor representatives of Samsung.”
They are bearing down on Samsung, saying, “Hanwha gave up a deal to take over Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering due to the opposition of the labor union at the time of the on-the-spot inspection.”
The labor unions are opposing the sale, the working conditions in case of sale, and the compensation for changing their companies from Samsung to Hanwha. In this regard, Samsung Group drew a line, saying, “Since the four companies are the ones to pursue its sale, these should be the arrangements between management and labor unions.”
The industry says that there are not enough reasons for the union members to request compensation, since the brand value of Hanwha is higher than Samsung in the petrochemical sector.
An official from Samsung Group’s subsidiaries said, “As the subject companies of sale didn’t have high merit pay compared to its major subsidiaries, including Samsung Electronics, I think it wouldn’t cause a big stir.”
Indeed, the opinions are divided even inside the union. Some oppose the sale itself, while others demand an employment guarantee for more than 5 years and compensation worth 36 months of ordinary wages if dismissed. Meanwhile, the Hanwha Group, which has been conducting due diligence on the four companies from January, is taking a theoretical stand, saying, “It is the problem that needs to be solved by Samsung.”
On March 5, the government previously approved Hanwha Chemical’s acquisition of Samsung Total Petrochemicals on the condition that Hanwha would not increase the price of products for three years, following the sale of defense companies, including Samsung Techwin, last month.