A Samsung Electronics workers' union in South Korea will hold its first strike next week, demanding higher wages.
The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), which has about 28,000 members (more than a fifth of the company's total workforce ), said it would stop working for one day on June 7 , as part of strike action and protest over the situation at the company.
The announcement was made by union officials at a press conference broadcast live. The company employees also held a banner that read: “ We can no longer tolerate labor repression, union repression .”
The full work stoppage on June 7 will be the first strike by South Korean Samsung Electronics workers.
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In recent weeks, workers have been participating in some demonstrations outside the company's offices in the capital Seoul , as well as outside its chip manufacturing plant in Hwaseong.
In response to the company's decision to raise wages this year, the union had also said it wanted an extra day of annual leave as well as transparency about performance-based bonuses
The union said that Samsung Electronics did not bring a compromise plan in the negotiations that took place on Tuesday.
From its side, the company said it will have new talks with the union.
Union executives defended the decision to take action at a time when parts of Samsung's business are underperforming
“ The company says it has been facing a crisis for the entire period of the past 10 years ,” Son Woo-mok , president of the NSEU, told reporters . However, he said this is ultimately being used as an excuse to not meet workers ’ demands .
According to the union's announcement, all Samsung Electronics facilities throughout South Korea will be affected by the strike on June 7.
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It is worth noting that if the workers' demands are not met, further strikes may be organized. This could potentially disrupt production at many of Samsung's key facilities, including semiconductor and smartphone.
The NSEU strike action highlights the ongoing struggle for fair wages and labor rights in South Korea, where large companies like Samsung have often been criticized for their treatment of workers.
This NSEU strike could have extensive impacts not only for Samsung, but for the entire labor landscape in South Korea. It could possibly set a precedent for other unions to demand fair wages and better working conditions from their employers.
NSEU is the largest of the company's five labor unions in South Korea. At present, we do not know whether they will participate in the mobilizations and the smaller unions.
However, a coalition of five unions at Samsung, including another union at Samsung Electronics, questioned the intent behind the strike and said it would not participate. The coalition said the strike was more about uniting employees into a militant “umbrella union” than improving workers’ conditions.
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Previous worker mobilizations
More than 2,000 employees of the technology company gathered in Seoul last week to demand better wages.
Analysts said the surge in union membership reflects workers' frustration over Samsung's recent decline in competitiveness in businesses such as high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. There are also some legal issues facing the tech giant.
Source: www.cnbc.com
