Unionized workers at Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics hold three-day strike

A truck belonging to the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) is parked in front of the company’s office building in Seocho district, southern Seoul, on June 7. Yonhap

Samsung Electronics union members plan to begin a three-day strike on Monday. However, due to the low turnout, it is not expected that the planned industrial action will affect the technology giant’s production.

The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), the largest union with 29,000 members, will kick off the strike with a rally at the entrance to the company’s premises in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, according to industry sources. The strike is expected to last until Wednesday.

The NSEU said that around 8,000 people had participated in its previous survey on the planned strike and that more than 5,000 of them were likely to join the collective action.

The two sides have held several rounds of talks since January but have not been able to resolve their differences over wage increases, vacation arrangements and bonuses.

The union demanded a day’s holiday for all employees and a significant salary increase for the 855 members who had not signed the collective agreement for 2024.

The union also called on the company to offer more paid leave and compensate for economic losses incurred during unpaid strikes.

The NSEU claimed that the company refused to meet any of its demands during the two-week adjustment period that began on June 13 and held the company solely responsible for all business losses caused by the strike.

The union also threatened that it would hold another five-day strike starting July 15 if no progress was made during this week’s strike.

However, insiders believe that the strike will not lead to production disruptions at the world’s largest memory chip manufacturer. They point to the previous one-day collective labor dispute on June 7, which had only a minor impact.

NSEU members make up about 24 percent of Samsung Electronics’ total workforce of about 125,000 employees. (Yonhap)