"Overtaking Hyundai Motor Union Is Only a Matter of Time"
The National Samsung Electronics Labor Union (hereinafter Jeonsamno), which has entered the second week of a general strike, held a general strike rally on the 22nd at Samsung Semicon Sporex in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
About 1,200 union members from nationwide workplaces including Giheung, Pyeongtaek, Cheonan, Onyang, Gumi, and Gwangju participated in the strike. Attendees coordinated their outfits with red headbands and black T-shirts labeled "General Strike" and pledged to win the strike.
On the morning of the 22nd, members of the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union are holding a rally for the victory of the general strike at Samsung Electronics Giheung Campus Semicon Sporex in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do. [Photo by Yonhap News]
The rally appears to be aimed at maximizing bargaining power ahead of wage negotiations with management scheduled for the next day. Samsung Electronics management and the Jeonsamno executive committee will resume negotiations at 9 a.m. on the 23rd at the Giheung Nanopark negotiation hall.
In particular, the union focused on promoting and encouraging membership to expand the organization's size. Promotional activities to establish the union system continued, including publicly recruiting delegates who serve as communication channels. According to Jeonsamno, as of 8 a.m. that day, the number of union members was 34,763, about 27.8% of Samsung Electronics' total workforce (approximately 125,000 employees).
Chairman Son Woo-mok encouraged, "This general strike won't change everything at once, but let's change things one by one. Let's not be impatient and build our Samsung Electronics with a long-term perspective."
Vice Chairman Lee Hyun-guk said, "If our union membership increases just a little, negotiations with management will be possible even without striking. The Hyundai Motor union, the largest domestic union, has about 47,000 members, so surpassing the Hyundai Motor union is just a matter of time."
After the rally, participants marched about 3 km around the Giheung workplace, shouting slogans such as "Colleagues, let's unite," "We will protect you," and "Let's go together until the end."
Meanwhile, the resumed negotiations are expected to cover wage increase rates, one day of guaranteed union founding leave demanded by Jeonsamno, improvements to the performance bonus system, and compensation for economic losses due to the strike.
Management reportedly stated at the third post-adjustment meeting of the Central Labor Relations Commission at the end of last month that the "average wage increase rate of 5.1% (base increase rate 3.0% + performance increase rate 2.1%)" cannot be altered. On the other hand, Jeonsamno has proposed an average wage increase rate of 5.6%, reflecting a base increase rate of 3.5%.
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