A workers’ union at Samsung Electronics in South Korea has announced a strike scheduled for July 8-10, according to a union official on Tuesday.
This action is part of their ongoing efforts to negotiate better terms with the country’s most valuable company.
The union is currently assessing how many workers will participate in the strike, the official told Reuters over the phone.
Union leader Son Woo-mok stated on Monday that the union is demanding a more transparent system for bonuses and time off, and seeks recognition as an equal partner in negotiations with the company.
Samsung has declined to comment on the strike plans.
Despite the announcement, Samsung’s share price remained stable, increasing by 0.1% in morning trading, compared to a 0.7% decline in the benchmark price index (.KS11).
Union membership at Samsung has surged since the company pledged in 2020 to stop discouraging the formation of organized labor.
Analysts believe the strike is unlikely to significantly impact chip production at the world’s largest memory chipmaker, as most of its production is automated.
However, the extent of the impact will depend on the number of workers who operate the chip plants that participate in the strike and the duration of their absence, explained senior researcher Kim Yang-Paeng at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade.
“Chip production cannot proceed with replacement workers if people who operate the automated machines walked out for a long time because of the specificity and expertise of the work,” Kim said.
In a previous action last month, workers collectively took annual leave on the same day, marking the union’s first industrial action.
Samsung reported no impact on production or business activities, as most of those striking were employed at inner-city offices rather than manufacturing sites, according to analysts.
“This planned strike marks a turning point in Samsung’s history of non-union management.
This could be seen as a drop in employee loyalty at Samsung … caused by wages and disappointing compensation compared to Samsung’s rivals,” said a Seoul-based analyst on Tuesday, who requested anonymity due to the unknown details of the strike.
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