Labor disputes spill over to major Korean tech firms
Workers are seen at Samsung Biologics' factory in Incheon, Gyeonggi Province, May 6. Yonhap
Labor disputes over performance-based pay and profit sharing were spilling over to major Korean industries Monday, with companies like Samsung Biologics and Kakao Corp. facing standoffs with unionized workers.
The bio arm of Samsung Group has been continuing its work-to-rule campaign, after a five-day strike held in early May, as management and the labor union failed to reach an agreement in wage negotiations.
Around 2,800 of its 4,000 union members participated in the walkout, the first collective action since the company was founded in 2011.
Unionized members reportedly demanded a one-off cash bonus of 30 million won ($19,946), an average 14 percent increase in wages and performance-based pay equivalent to 20 percent of operating profit.
The management is said to have proposed a 6.2 percent increase in wages.
The two sides have held talks under the mediation of the labor ministry on May 8 but failed to narrow their differences.
Samsung Biologics estimated damage caused from the five-day strike could amount to around 150 billion won. The ongoing work-to-rule campaign has also partially disrupted the company's production line, a company official claimed.
Friction between the labor union and management is also brewing at Kakao, the operator of the country's popular messenger service.
Unionized members at the IT firm have filed an arbitration request with the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission, after it failed to reach an agreement in wage negotiations with management, according to industry insiders.
The two sides are said to be particularly at odds over performance-based pay, with the union demanding the company pay around 13 to 14 percent of its operating profit as performance-based incentives.
Kakao's union claimed the performance-based incentive issue was not the main reason behind the conflict, saying there are other issues to be resolved, such as the management's decision-making style, overworking of employees and workplace bullying.
Workers plan to hold a demonstration Wednesday near the company's headquarters in Pangyo, south of Seoul, should the arbitration talks fall through. They will also hold a vote to decide whether to stage a walkout.
"We will approach the upcoming mediation process with the Labor Relations Commission with good faith, and keep our communication channels with the union open, as we make efforts, until the very end, to reach an amicable settlement," a company official from Kakao said.
The gaming industry, meanwhile, remains relatively peaceful compared with other tech industries, for now.
Krafton Inc., the No. 1 game developer by market capitalization, has no labor union, while the union and management at Nexon Korea Corp. have agreed on a 6 percent increase in base pay in its latest wage negotiations in March.
NC Corp. has also finalized wage talks with the company, agreeing to an average 3 million-won increase in salary.