Samsung Electronics today announced that it has reached a preliminary agreement with the Samsung Electronics National Union (NSEU) for a 5.1% wage increase. Over the next seven days, union members will vote on an agreement that would provide more holidays, benefits and bonus points that can be used to purchase Samsung Electronics products. The same information appeared on Samsung’s YouTube channel.
Image Source: Reuters
Previously, NSEU Vice President Lee Hyun-kuk said the gap between the parties was too wide. NSEU is the South Korean tech giant’s largest union, with 36,500 members making up about 30% of the company’s South Korean employees. Since January of this year, the union and company management have held several rounds of negotiations, but have been unable to overcome disagreements on issues of wage increases, vacation systems and bonuses, which on July 8 led to the largest strike in Samsung history.
The union demanded a 5.6% increase in basic wages for all its members, a guaranteed day off on the day the union was founded, and compensation for economic losses caused by the strike. Samsung management, in turn, offered only a 5.1% wage increase, emphasizing its commitment to building a mutually beneficial relationship with the union.
Unionized Samsung Electronics employees returned to work only 25 days after the strike began. At the end of the strike, the NSEU warned that if an agreement was not reached with Samsung, strikes would continue, but would not be systematic.