Samsung's unionized workers in South Korea will stage a walkout next week to escalate their strike against the company over unmet demands. The company's workers said they have demanded higher wages, but the South Korean firm hasn't agreed to those demands.
Unionized workers in Samsung Electronics will stop work for a day
The tech giant's workers' union will stop working for one day (June 7, 2024). The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), which has over 30,000 workers, accounts for over a fifth of the company's workforce in South Korea. The walkout date was announced this week, and the announcement video was live-streamed. During the announcement, workers held a banner that read, “We can no longer tolerate labor repression, union repression.”
It will be the first walkout in Samsnug's long history. Employees have been protesting on and off over the past few weeks in front of the company's offices in Seoul and the chip production facility in Hwaseong. While Samsung announced a 5.1% wage increase, its workers' union said it wants an additional day of leave and a more transparent performance evaluation process for bonuses.
The workers' union said the company failed to present a compromise plan during Monday's negotiations. Samsung Electronics said, “We will sincerely engage in discussions with the union.” It said Samsung has been saying that it's facing a business crisis for the past ten years, but it should be used as an excuse not to meet workers' demands.
The company's other smaller workers' union said they won't join this walkout. Samsung has been under constant pressure over the past few years as it has faltered in key areas, including contract chip making, smartphones, and developing memory chips like HBM.
