A Collective Bargaining Schedule Is Likely to Be Set as Early as This Day
On the 8th, Samsung Electronics announced that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter of this year was tentatively estimated at 12.3 trillion won, an increase of 58.1% compared to the same period last year. The photo shows the Samsung Electronics building in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Sales increased by 6.45% to 66 trillion won compared to the same period last year. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Samsung Electronics will hold a second preliminary working-level consultation with the joint labor union bargaining group on the 20th of this month to proceed with collective bargaining. It is expected that the schedule for collective bargaining between Samsung Electronics and the labor union will be decided as early as that day.
According to the Samsung Electronics labor union on the 18th, the joint bargaining delegation of Samsung Electronics and labor unions 1 to 4 decided to hold a working-level consultation on the 20th of this month ahead of collective bargaining. The labor and management previously held the first preliminary consultation on the 8th of this month.
Samsung Electronics labor and management held the first preliminary consultation on the 8th of this month and discussed necessary matters before holding future collective bargaining. The preliminary consultation is a meeting to discuss specific negotiation rules such as the schedule, procedure, and various conditions of collective bargaining between working-level personnel before proceeding with collective bargaining.
The labor union side first requested that the negotiators be designated as temporary full-time union officials to ensure the continuity of negotiations. This is because if they are not designated as full-time union officials for collective bargaining, they cannot receive time-off benefits, making it difficult to focus on union work.
The time-off system is a system that recognizes labor-management activities of full-time union officials, such as collective bargaining, grievance handling, industrial accident processing and prevention activities, as work and pays wages accordingly.
They also requested practical workspace for the union, means to promote union activities, employment rules, and materials related to negotiations.
The labor and management did not reach an agreement during the first preliminary consultation and decided to proceed with additional consultations. A total of 10 people attended the first preliminary consultation, including Samsung Electronics’ department head-level personnel in charge of HR and five union representatives.
The management also stated that they will cooperate by consulting with the union as much as possible on matters necessary for future negotiation progress.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong promised in a public apology in May to uphold the three labor rights and to ensure that the phrase "no union management" would no longer be associated with Samsung.
Although no agreement was reached during the first preliminary consultation, it is reported that the management listened to the union’s opinions for over two hours and 30 minutes, far exceeding the originally scheduled one hour.
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