Unionized workers at Samsung Electronics declare “indefinite” strike

Samsung Electronics Co. union members on Wednesday staged the biggest industrial action in the technology giant’s 55-year history, increasing pressure on their demand for a pay raise.

After a three-day strike that was scheduled to end on Wednesday, the National Samsung Electronics Union, the largest union of the world’s largest memory chip maker, had planned another five-day strike starting July 15.

However, the union said it had changed its plan and immediately gone on an indefinite strike because the company had made no attempt to enter into dialogue during the three-day strike.

The NSEU said more than 6,000 members had expressed their intention to take part in the industrial action, with more than 5,000 of them coming from the mainstream semiconductor sector, it added.

Despite the strike, Samsung Electronics said there were no production interruptions during the first two days of the industrial 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 the economic losses caused by unpaid strikes.

The NSEU says it has a total of 31,000 members, which is about 24 percent of Samsung Electronics’ workforce of around 125,000 employees. (Yonhap)