South Korean Samsung union declares “indefinite” strike

A union representing tens of thousands of workers at Samsung Electronics in South Korea said Wednesday it would extend a three-day strike indefinitely to force management to negotiate.

“(We) declare a second indefinite general strike starting July 10 after learning that management is unwilling to talk,” the National Samsung Electronics Union said in a statement.

More than 5,000 members walked off the job on Monday. The strike was planned as a three-day strike and was part of a long-running struggle over wages and benefits.

The move followed a one-day strike in June, the first collective action of its kind at the company, which had not organized a union for decades.

The union has more than 30,000 members – more than a fifth of the company’s total workforce.

Samsung said on Tuesday that there had been no production disruptions, Yonhap news agency reported, but the union claimed the strike had a significant impact on the company.

“We have confirmed the obvious disruptions to production and the management will regret this decision,” said the union’s statement announcing the indefinite strike.

“The longer the strike lasts, the more management will suffer, and at some point they will kneel down and sit down at the negotiating table. We are confident of our victory.”

The union accused Samsung management of “obstructing” the strike and said it did not appear willing to engage in dialogue.

She called on more workers to participate, including “those who are still hesitant”.

“Your determination is needed to advance our goals and victory. Let us join forces to protect our rights and create a better future.”

Samsung said it would comment later.

– Avoiding unions –

The union has been in negotiations with management since January, but both sides have failed to resolve their differences.

Workers rejected the offer of a 5.1 percent pay increase, even though the union had previously made demands such as improved annual leave and transparent, performance-related bonuses.

Samsung Electronics managed – according to critics, sometimes by brutal means – to avoid its employees forming a union for almost 50 years and yet rose to become the world’s largest smartphone and semiconductor manufacturer.

The company’s founder, Lee Byung-chul, who died in 1987, was a staunch opponent of unions and declared that he would never allow them “until I see dirt in front of my eyes”.

The first union at Samsung Electronics was founded in the late 2010s.

The company is the flagship subsidiary of South Korean giant Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-run conglomerates that dominate business in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

The story goes on

The company is the world’s largest manufacturer of memory chips and contributes a significant share to the global production of high-end chips.

Samsung recently forecast a more than 15-fold increase in its second-quarter operating profit year-on-year due to rising demand for generative AI.

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