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Samsung Electronics, union reach wage deal for 5.1% pay hike in 2025

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Samsung Electronics Device Solutions Vice President Choi Wan-woo, left, shakes hands with National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) Chairman Sohn Woo-mok after signing the wage and collective bargaining agreement for this year at the company's plant in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Samsung and the NSEU, the company's representative labor union with negotiating rights, agreed on a 5.1 percent average pay increase, along with bonus points for an in-house online mall and 30 treasury shares per employee. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics Device Solutions Vice President Choi Wan-woo, left, shakes hands with National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) Chairman Sohn Woo-mok after signing the wage and collective bargaining agreement for this year at the company's plant in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Samsung and the NSEU, the company's representative labor union with negotiating rights, agreed on a 5.1 percent average pay increase, along with bonus points for an in-house online mall and 30 treasury shares per employee. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics and its biggest labor union on Wednesday reached a wage agreement for 2025, which includes a 5.1 percent pay raise.

In a vote held for six days from Friday, the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) approved a tentative agreement reached between management and labor last month.

Some 87.7 percent of 22,132 workers who cast a ballot voted in favor of the wage agreement, according to the NSEU.

Under the agreement, employees will receive a pay increase of an average 5.1 percent, along with some bonus points for in-house online mall and 30 treasury shares per employee.

The company will operate a joint labor-management task force to improve the performance pay system and introduce a system to rehire employees with three or more children after retirement age.

The agreement came after the two sides failed to reach a wage deal throughout last year. The NSEU represents some 36,000 workers, or about 30 percent of the company's total workforce.

In response to stalled negotiations, the NSEU staged the first-ever strike in Samsung Electronics' history last year.

"This wage agreement will be a turning point for greater harmony between labor and management. We will make a united effort to strengthen our competitiveness," Choi Wan-woo, vice president at Samsung Electronics, said. Samsung Electronics and its biggest labor union on Wednesday reached a wage agreement for 2025, which includes a 5.1 percent pay raise.

In a vote held for six days from Friday, the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) approved a tentative agreement reached between management and labor last month.

Some 87.7 percent of 22,132 workers who cast a ballot voted in favor of the wage agreement, according to the NSEU.

Under the agreement, employees will receive a pay increase of an average 5.1 percent, along with some bonus points for in-house online mall and 30 treasury shares per employee.

The company will operate a joint labor-management task force to improve the performance pay system and introduce a system to rehire employees with three or more children after retirement age.

The agreement came after the two sides failed to reach a wage deal throughout last year. The NSEU represents some 36,000 workers, or about 30 percent of the company's total workforce.

In response to stalled negotiations, the NSEU staged the first-ever strike in Samsung Electronics' history last year.

"This wage agreement will be a turning point for greater harmony between labor and management. We will make a united effort to strengthen our competitiveness," Choi Wan-woo, vice president at Samsung Electronics, said. (Yonhap)