In Pursuit of Better Pay, Samsung Workers Strike In South Korea

Samsung workers have initiated a strike against their company in protest of its failure to meet their demands for better pay, among other things. The strike has been initiated by the National Samsung Electronics Union, one of the largest unions associated with the company, and it comes after a one-day strike conducted last month failed to push the company to consider their demands. The strike is expected to extend between July 8-10 in Hwaseong, South Korea, and while the numbers haven’t been confirmed, over 6,500 employees are expected to join the cause.

The Samsung union’s actions and protests have caused “’no disruption” to production according to the company, but it is hard to imagine how such a large-scale exodus of workers, even temporarily, has not affected business at all.

Image: Samsung

Samsung Workers Strike after Union Demands Are Ignored by the Company

As a company, Samsung Electronics has not encountered any major strikes from employees in recent years, however, its clean record has now been marred by its refusal to meet the union’s latest demands. It’s true that the clean record is largely due to the company’s history with union-busting efforts and strategies that have kept union issues at bay, but there is something to be said about the scale of issues that are in discussion today. Choosing to stand by its decision to deny the union’s demands for better pay, an additional day of leave annually, and changes to the bonus system established by the business, Samsung has attracted the ire of its employees.  

Members of the Samsung Union Take Action Against the Company

Last month, the NSEU encouraged its battalion of over 28,400 Samsung workers to strike against the business for a day, and it was rumored that between 3,000 and 5,000 of them joined the strike. An exact number has not been provided for the one-day strike and we don’t have confirmation on how many members from the Samsung union have taken action this time either. 

The union members reportedly make up a quarter of Samsung’s South Korean workforce, so on the face of it, the numbers suggest low participation in the protest. Still, Union President Son Woo-mok believes the turnout is on the lower end because the group has only been around for 5 years and has not had enough time to talk to members about key issues. He is certain that this has prevented many from joining the cause, and it isn’t a matter of low support for their cause.

The three-day strike that is now ongoing is expected to have over 6,500 participants. Reuters reports that the Samsung workers on strike could include those from manufacturing sites, product development, and employees monitoring automated production lines and equipment. 

News Of The Strike at Samsung has Not Disrupted Work

According to local reports, Samsung’s labor issues are not causing a disruption to production within the company yet. Despite the scale of the Samsung workers’ strike, it hasn’t grown to a point where the daily processes at the organization are becoming unbalanced, which is a large part of why the company has not attempted to appease the union workers. Sources online say that if the Samsung union’s actions fail to generate a response with a three-day strike, the union will take things further with a five-day strike soon.

Although Samsung isn’t feeling the pinch of the strike yet, it could interfere with its plan to keep up with competition in the chip production market over time, which seems to be something it has been struggling with for a while. Samsung has not been able to maintain pace with market demands allowing competitors to pick up some of the slack instead. 

A major part of the chip production process is automated so the company may be okay with the strike extending a little while longer, but it will lose employee loyalty in the process. Even if Samsung’s labor issues die down over time, employees will no longer trust the company to safeguard their interests. This could damage the productivity levels within the organization in the long run. Samsung will have to take a closer look at the possible repercussions of the strike and determine the long-term cost of denying any negotiations with the union and its members.

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