Demanding High Wage Increase Rates, Citing 'Production Disruption' as Strike Purpose
The largest union at Samsung Electronics, the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union (Jeonsamno), which declared a general strike, will go on strike for three days starting tomorrow. Jeonsamno defined the purpose of the strike as 'production disruption,' but considering previous annual leave protests, the possibility of production disruption due to the strike does not seem high.
According to industry sources on the 7th, Jeonsamno plans to continue its dispute actions for three days from the 8th to the 10th by holding rallies in front of the main gate of the Hwaseong plant. The union's demands for the general strike include applying a high wage increase rate to all union members, fulfilling promises of paid leave, improving the criteria for the Over-Profit Incentive (OPI) paid based on Economic Value Added (EVA), and compensation for wage losses caused by the strike.
The Samsung Electronics union declared a strike for the first time since the company's founding and is fighting by using annual leave, the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
Jeonsamno stated, "Since June 13, during the two weeks of post-adjustment, the management has not accepted all our demands," and added, "The management's post-adjustment proposal does not consider workers as equal partners and still treats them as expendable company resources." They continued, "We hold the management fully responsible through this general strike," and emphasized, "The management bears full responsibility for all management losses caused by this strike."
Having negotiated with management since January, Jeonsamno secured the right to strike through the Central Labor Relations Commission's (CLRC) decision to suspend mediation and a union member approval vote, and declared the first-ever strike on May 29. Subsequently, on June 7, they conducted the first annual leave protest following the strike declaration, but no production disruptions occurred as feared.
The union plans to continue a second strike for five days starting from the 15th if labor-management negotiations do not progress constructively during this strike period. However, the actual number of union members participating in this strike remains uncertain. If the strike participation rate is low, the likelihood of production disruption, which is the union's objective, is also low. Currently, Jeonsamno has about 28,000 members, accounting for 22% of Samsung Electronics' total workforce of approximately 125,000 employees.
Jeonsamno is actively promoting the strike schedule at workplaces and encouraging participation via text messages. On the 3rd, during a YouTube live broadcast, they read an appeal stating, "If more than 5,000 union members gather, we will surely win."
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