Samsung workers on Monday (July 8) have begun a three-day strike in South Korea, with the union alleging that the country’s biggest conglomerate continues to fall short of its demands. The tech company, however, said that there was no disruption in production.
Why union workers are protesting against Samsung
The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), which has roughly 30,000 members and make up almost a quarter of the firm's South Korean workforce, has put three demands.
The workers have demanded better pay along with an extra day of annual leave for unionised workers as well as changes to the employee bonus system. They allege that bonuses for rank-and-file workers are calculated by deducting the cost of capital from operating profit, whereas those for executives are based on personal performance goals.
The union said 6,540 workers will be striking this week, mostly at manufacturing sites and in product development, as per news agency Reuters.
In the first industrial action last month, the union coordinated annual leave to stage a mass walkout. As per union officials, nearly 3,000 strikers attended a rally near Samsung's headquarters in Hwaseong, Seoul. Samsung, however, said that it had no impact on business activity.
Union on alleged low turnout in strike
Union president Son Woo-mok disputed media reports of low participation, and told the news agency that the union did not have enough time to educate members about the issues.
“Education about labour unions ... has not been enough. But I don't think this participation is low because our union is still young compared to other unions,” he said. Meanwhile, the union's vice president hinted of more strikes if Samsung does not improve its proposals.
He said that Samsung's proposals include flexibility in pay and annual leave conditions but do not meet union demands of increased pay and leave.