Samsung’s chip workers are on the verge of a general strike

On June 7, Samsung workers in South Korea began their first strike, organized by the Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU). This historic event involved around 28,000 union members, representing about a fifth of Samsung’s workforce in South Korea.

The attack targeted Samsung’s chip division, which produces a number of key components such as RAM, NAND flash chips, USB sticks, SD cards, Exynos processors, camera sensors, modems, NFC chips and power/display controllers.

The action highlighted deep-rooted problems related to unionization at Samsung and marked a significant shift in the company’s labor dynamics. Throughout the strike, union members hung visible posters on the doors of Samsung factories outlining their grievances and demands.

Lee Hyun-kuk, vice president of the National Samsung Electronics Union, called the action “largely symbolic, but it’s a start.” He stressed that the union has contingency plans for further strikes if management fails to resolve their grievances. Lee further stated that the possibility of a general strike remains, underscoring the union’s determination to push through its demands.

The union is pushing for a 6.5 percent pay increase (as opposed to the 5.1 percent increase proposed by the company), as well as an additional day of vacation and a more transparent calculation of bonuses. Bonuses are particularly important because they make up a significant part of employees’ salaries.

In 2023, the method of calculating bonuses, which takes into account both operating profit and the cost of capital, resulted in no bonuses being paid to workers. The union argues that bonuses should be based solely on operating profit. Samsung’s chip division reported a profit of $1.4 billion in the first quarter of this year.

The Samsung Group has always resisted union initiatives, resulting in policies that include low wages, minimal benefits and longer working hours.

In December 2013, the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), supported by the IndustriALL Global Union, exposed widespread violations of workers’ rights at Samsung. These violations included reports of kidnappings and physical violence against union leaders, as well as targeted management training programs designed to prevent union formation.

Samsung’s global reputation in the IT sector is also marred by difficult working conditions, which are characterised by long working hours and precarious employment. The company actively discourages its employees from joining unions and puts pressure on unionised workers in precarious employment to leave their organisations.

These tactics include paying lower wages to union members and subjecting them to intense surveillance, raising significant ethical concerns about Samsung’s treatment of its workforce in the technology industry.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. has a hierarchical workforce structure that exhibits significant diversity. At the top are highly paid professionals and research and development personnel who are critical to innovation and product development.

The middle level consists of skilled craftsmen and production workers in Samsung’s factories around the world, including in South Korea. They are essential to production, but often have to face difficult conditions.

At the bottom of Samsung’s workforce hierarchy are workers employed by contractors and subcontractors. Samsung denies any responsibility for this group despite their crucial role in the company’s operations.

The intense work culture at Samsung was evident during the patent trial between Samsung and Apple in 2012, which exposed the harsh working conditions for employees in research and development. Chief designer Wang Jee-yuen’s testimony vividly described the demanding nature of the work, including long working hours that impacted personal well-being and family life.

Women make up a significant portion of Samsung’s skilled workforce and are often recruited from smaller towns to work in its semiconductor labs, where they endure long shifts, changing work schedules and exposure to hazardous materials.

Samsung is not the only company that exploits its workers. One study shows that iPhone workers today are exploited 25 times more than textile workers in 19th century England. The exploitation rate for iPhone workers is incredibly high at 2,458%.

This means that workers spend most of their day producing goods that make the company richer, while only a tiny portion of their workday goes towards their wages.

Amazon, a major employer in the US, is notorious for its difficult working conditions. Employees in Amazon warehouses are confronted with physical stress, work-related accidents and psychological problems on a daily basis.

The company uses advanced surveillance systems to closely monitor the activities of its employees. Although Amazon claims these measures increase safety, employees often feel pressured to work at an excessively fast pace to meet productivity standards.

In addition, Amazon has actively fought its workforce’s unionization efforts. In 2021, the company spent $4.2 million on consultants to discourage workers from joining unions.

However, on April 1, 2022, workers made a significant breakthrough with the formation of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), the first union at an Amazon factory in the United States. This victory came after a year-long struggle against Amazon’s aggressive anti-union tactics and garnered the support of dedicated workers and organizers at the Staten Island warehouse.

In 2011, workers at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar IMT plant in India applied for registration of a new union, the Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU), in Chandigarh. When management learned of this initiative, it allegedly pressured the workers to sign documents pledging not to join the MSEU.

In response, on June 4, 2011, 3,000 workers at the Manesar plant launched a sit-in, demanding recognition of the MSEU. To further increase the pressure on the workers, on June 6 of the same year, the management fired 11 employees, including MSEU officials, accusing them of instigating the strike.

Over time, Maruti Suzuki changed its human resource strategy by increasing the number of contract workers under precarious conditions while reducing the core of permanent employees.

These labour movements are an expression of the ongoing global struggle of workers against exploitation by powerful corporations. They underscore the challenges and unfair treatment faced by workers and stress the need for systemic reform to ensure fair treatment and equitable distribution of the benefits of their labour.

Pranjal Pandey, a Delhi-based journalist and editor, has edited seven books on various subjects, available on LeftWord. You can explore his journalism on NewsClick.in.

This article was created by Globetrotter and is reproduced with permission.