Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Samsung labor union to resume wage talks next week
Members of Samsung Electronics’ labor unions hold signs demanding the removal of caps on performance‑based bonuses during a massive rally at the company’s semiconductor production base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, April 23. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
By Lee Gyu-lee
Samsung Electronics Labor Union (SELU), the company’s largest labor union, has agreed to resume talks with management next week, ahead of a planned strike set for May 21.
The union said it accepted a renewed mediation request during a tripartite meeting involving Gyeonggi District Employment and Labor Office, Friday, as the office's commissioner strongly recommended resuming the negotiation process, while pledging full government-level support.
“In light of the government’s active commitment and repeated requests, the union decided, after internal review, to participate in an additional negotiation process,” the union said, adding that it made the decision as the delegated authority negotiating for Samsung Electronics labor unions.
However, SELU vowed to press ahead with strike preparations if the outcome fails to satisfy its members, with its leader Choi Seung-ho stressing, “We will move forward with a general strike without hesitation.”
The additional talks are scheduled from Monday to Tuesday.
The request came as Samsung Electronics’ labor coalition faced escalating internal conflict between SELU and smaller unions over claims that the coalition's demands prioritize the company's chip making employees only.
The coalition, composed of SELU's three major unions — National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) and Samsung Electronics Co. Union (SECU) — demanded management remove the cap on performance‑based bonuses and allocate 15 percent of annual operating profit as payouts, threatening to stage a 18-day strike.
However, NSEU, the second-largest union, sent an official letter to SELU on Thursday, demanding an apology over remarks allegedly threatening to exclude certain representatives from collective bargaining talks.
According to NSEU, Choi took issue with certain NSEU representatives’ activities gathering opinions from members of the company's Device Experience (DX) division, which handles smartphones, TVs and other devices, and warned that they could be excluded from the talks if they do not apologize.
“This is not just an attack on an individual but an act that effectively seeks to erase the representation of DX workers at the bargaining table,” NSEU said. “(His remarks) once again seriously damaged the trust between workers and the unions.”
NSEU’s latest escalation comes after a similar move by SECU, which is mostly comprised of DX division employees. SECU earlier notified the coalition that it would no longer participate in collective negotiations, citing repeated disregard for proposals intended to benefit all union members.
SECU demanded an official apology from SELU, accusing the dominant union of ignoring and belittling its members and repeatedly using derogatory expressions for SECU, such as “company-friendly union.”
Now that the company’s management and labor unions have agreed to resume talks, attention is turning to whether they can reach an agreement.
According to industry officials, Samsung Electronics has promised to use an amount equivalent to 10 percent of operating profit for performance bonuses, in line with industry peers. The company is also said to have pledged special rewards if it achieves management performances similar to this year’s level, making a step back from its previous stance of maintaining the existing cap on performance bonuses.