Samsung union calls four-day strike

Samsung’s union has announced plans to stage a four-day strike aimed at increasing pressure on company management to raise wages and pay additional bonuses.

Image source: Yonhap

The Samsung Electronics National Union (NSEU), the South Korean tech giant’s largest union, has announced its intention to go on strike from August 15 to 18, Yonhap News Agency reported. Striking union members have been instructed to refuse to work on Korean Liberation and Independence Day starting Thursday and work in shifts until Sunday.

Since January of this year, the union and the company’s management have held several rounds of negotiations, but have been unable to overcome disagreements on issues of salary increases, vacation systems and bonuses. The NSEU, which represents 31,000 workers, about 24% of the company’s 125,000 employees, has been on full-scale strike action since 8 July.

The union is demanding a 5.6% increase in base wages for all members, a guaranteed day off on the union’s founding day, 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.

Earlier this month, union members returned to work after a 25-day strike and vowed to move to a “long-term plan” that included flash strikes.