Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Samsung CEO meets union leaders to avert strike
Kyung Kye-hyun, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions division, speaks during a shareholders meeting at its Suwon headquarters, March 16. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
Kyung Kye-hyun, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions division, met with the company's union leaders for the first time, Friday, as unionized workers have been intensifying pressure on management to meet their demands. The union leaders called on Kyung to increase wages and offer additional paid holidays, according to the company, but Kyung made no concessions at the gathering.
“The meeting was held for about an hour from 1 p.m. in the CEO's office in Hwaseong,” a company spokesman said. “As this was the first time a Samsung CEO and union met, it was not a place where strong questions were exchanged. It was a meeting where the CEO listened to what the union leaders said and had a dialogue. There was no particular conclusion made from the meeting between the president and union leaders.”
The meeting came about a month after union members asked the company on Feb. 16 for a meeting with a high-ranking executive, after wage negotiations between the union and management broke down.
On Feb. 4, Samsung's union applied for mediation with the National Labor Relations Commission after failing to reach an agreement with management over the wages for 2021.
The arbitration effort failed to reach an agreement and the unionized workers consequently earned the right to legally go on strike. However, they deferred a walkout and instead requested a meeting with top executives.
The union, comprised of around 4,500 members, has been negotiating since October with management over wages for 2021.
The union requested changes in its bonus system from the current system that calculates based on the company's economic value added index, a calculation of how much profit remains after deducting the costs of the firm's capital spending from its operating profit, to calculate bonuses based on operating profit. It also requested more paid holidays.
“I heard that the CEO first asked the union members for their thoughts. He also said 'let's talk candidly with each other.' The conversation was not in a harsh atmosphere, but a time to talk honestly with each other,” the Samsung spokesman added.
The union side also noted the CEO's “willingness” to continue talking with them. “Management reiterated their previous position that it was difficult to reflect all the demands of the union, but CEO Kyung tried to listen to our opinions as much as possible,” a union member told reporters after the meeting.
“To be honest, it is half and half whether the negotiations will be changed compared to the previous talks, but we will monitor the situation with expectations.”