Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Court ruling undermines Samsung Biologics labor union's strike plans
Samsung Biologics' plant 4 in Incheon / Courtesy of Samsung Biologics
By Nam Hyun-woo
A court ruling has partly curbed Samsung Biologics labor union’s plan to stage an all-out strike, in a move seen as undermining its momentum.
The Incheon District Court on Thursday partially granted Samsung Biologics’ injunction request against the strike planned for May 1.
In its ruling, the court rejected the biopharmaceutical firm’s request to ban the strike itself, but said strike actions should be restricted in final-stage processes where there is a significant risk of product deterioration.
“The union shall not cause its members or third parties to suspend work to prevent deterioration or spoilage of thawed cell lines during the strike period,” the ruling read.
This means the union can stage a walkout in early-stage processes such as cell culture, purification and virus filtration, but not in finishing operations such as filling and concentration, where completed drug substances are processed into forms suitable for maintenance and storage.
Article 38-2 of Korea’s Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act states that any work aimed at preventing raw materials or products from being impaired or deteriorated should continue normally during periods of industrial actions.
Citing this, Samsung Biologics has argued that the strike should not be allowed because biologics manufacturing processes are interconnected. The union, however, argued that requiring all production to continue would infringe on its right to strike.
A Samsung Biologics official inspects equipment at the company's plant 4 in Incheon in this undated handout photo. Courtesy of Samsung Biologics
Samsung Biologics said it has “immediately filed an appeal regarding the portions that were not accepted,” and the union also plans to launch the strike as scheduled. However, the ruling allows previously produced drug substances to be processed into finished drug products, helping the company avoid a complete shutdown of entire production lines that the union had threatened.
The biopharmaceutical industry sees the ruling as an important precedent that could serve as a benchmark for defining the scope of strikes in future labor disputes in the sector.
“The ruling is meaningful because it confirmed the right to strike is not guaranteed without limits and can be restricted, depending on industrial characteristics and process risks,” an industry official said. “It is also a decision that has placed partial constraints on a strike that could have proceeded even at the risk of production disruptions.”
The company’s union and management have been engaged in wage and collective bargaining talks since December last year, but negotiations have remained deadlocked. The union is demanding an average 14 percent wage increase, performance bonuses equivalent to 20 percent of the company’s operating profit and other incentives. The management insists on a 6.2 percent wage increase.
If the strike goes ahead, it would mark Samsung Biologics’ first walkout since its establishment in 2011.
The union said the ruling does not impose significant constraints on its strike plans and that it has no intention of appealing. “Unless management presents a more forward-looking proposal, the strike will proceed as scheduled,” it said.