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Samsung Fire union threatens Lee Jae-yong
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance union leader Oh Sang-hoon, third from right, reads a statement after filing a petition with the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Administration, Tuesday. / Yonhap
By Park Jae-hyuk
By Park Jae-hyuk
Unions of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Samsung Claim Adjustment Service began calling for the company's management and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to accept their request for wage increases.
They warned that they will file civil and criminal suits against the management if their request is not accepted.
According to the unions, Wednesday, their petition was submitted to the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Administration a day earlier.
They alleged their companies have delayed paying overtime to their employees.
“Since the Samsung Fire union was established on Jan. 23, we have held 10 meetings with the management, but the CEO has never appeared in a venue for negotiation,” Samsung Fire union leader Oh Sang-hoon said after filing the petition.
“If our petition does not work, we will push forward our next steps ― civil and criminal suits.”
The unions criticized Lee, Samsung's de facto leader, for this issue, alleging he has yet to make any efforts to guarantee the three primary rights of workers ― the rights to organize, bargain collectively and act collectively.
They urged him to accept the unions from the bottom of his heart and pay attention to their demands.
Samsung Fire's labor and management have failed to reach an agreement on payment for extra work, although they started wage negotiations in March.
They have differed over the wage system which was changed in 2012.
Back then, the insurer introduced a “blanket wage system” which refers to a wage calculation method used in Korea, under which workers are paid a fixed monthly salary regardless of how many extra hours they work.
In this regard, the management claimed it has already paid for overtime.
However, the workers said their overtime payments should have been raised in line with the hike in their base salaries under the changed wage system.
According to the workers, the management needs to pay each employee 15 million won ($12,500) to 20 million won for their additional labor.
When the Samsung SDI union filed a similar complaint against management in 2016, the court ruled in favor of the union.
Against this backdrop, Samsung Fire said it has complied with the Supreme Court precedents and related laws regarding wages.
“We will respond to the union's petition according to the law,” a Samsung Fire official said.