Samsung Electronics Labor and Management to Resume Talks Ahead of Strike

Samsung Electronics' labor and management will resume negotiations about ten days ahead of a general strike. These talks are being evaluated as the de facto final negotiations before the strike commences.

Attention is focused on whether a breakthrough can be achieved for wage and working condition improvements that have caused conflict, and whether production disruptions at South Korea's largest electronics company can be prevented if these negotiations are successfully concluded.

Following the breakdown of wage negotiations in March due to differences in views on performance bonus criteria, labor and management are returning to dialogue. The two sides failed to narrow their gap on the size of performance bonus funds and payment standards. Management proposed a special reward plan and expanded welfare measures, while the union demanded 15% of operating profit as funds and the abolition of the cap.

The Federation of Samsung Electronics Unions announced on May 8th, following a meeting between Chairman Choi Seung-ho and Gyeonggi Regional Employment and Labor Affairs Office Chief Kim Do-hyeong, that it would resume negotiations with management through post-mediation procedures, as recommended by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The post-mediation process will take place over two days, from May 11th to 12th.

Choi Seung-ho, Chairman of the Federation of Samsung Electronics Unions, stated that a general strike would proceed if satisfactory results for union members are not achieved.