Samsung union begins first strike

Several rounds of negotiations have taken place since January, but both sides have reached an impasse on the issues of wages, holiday arrangements and bonuses.

After the National Labor Relations Commission decided to suspend arbitration and allow union members to vote for or against the strike, the right to strike was secured. On May 29, the union called for collective action for the first time.

The union had previously demanded higher wages for all members, fulfillment of promised paid holidays and an improvement in standards for performance incentives based on economic added value (EVA), a financial ratio that estimates the financial performance of a company by deducting invested capital from operating profit. In addition, unions should be compensated for wages lost during the strike.

“The company did not accept all of our demands in the two-week arbitration negotiations after June 13,” the union said.

“The company’s reconciliation plan does not consider workers as equals and continues to treat them as expendable objects,” the union said.

“We are holding the company accountable for all of this through a strike,” it continued. “The company is solely responsible for any business losses resulting from this strike.”

Since last month’s collective action, in which union members coordinated their annual leave to conduct what was effectively a mass strike, did not result in the disruption to production as feared, it is widely believed that this week’s strike will have no impact on business.

The union said it was ready for a second, five-day strike starting next Monday if negotiations did not progress during this strike.

Choi Jeong-yoon

The Korea Herald

Asia News Network