Management has been negotiating wages with the union since January, but the two sides had yet to reach an agreement. Son Woo-mok said Samsung Electronics’ latest offer to employees “angered all members” of the union, which represents about 28,000 workers.
In May 2024: Samsung Electronics faces first strike in its history
An offer at +5.1%
Management at the company, the world’s largest producer of memory cards, has been engaged in negotiations with the union since January. The company offered workers a 5.1 percent pay increase this year before the June strike.
Rejecting the offer on the table, the union leader outlined demands including improvements to annual leave and transparent performance bonuses. “Management should be held responsible for all losses incurred by the strike,” Son Woo-mok said in a live broadcast on YouTube.
Samsung Electronics is one of the world’s largest smartphone makers and a rare producer of high-value memory cards used for generative artificial intelligence. “We have not yet received any official communication from the company, except that they have received our strike declaration,” Lee Hyun-kuk, vice chairman of the union, said Monday.
Avoid any union regrouping
For nearly 50 years, Samsung Electronics has worked to prevent its workers from unionizing, sometimes with violent methods, critics say. The company’s founder, Lee Byung-chul, who died in 1987, was adamantly opposed to unions, saying he would never allow them “until I have dust in my eyes.” Samsung Electronics’ first union was formed in the late 2010s.
