The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) has announced that it plans to hold its first strike in South Korea due to failed negotiations with the company over wage increases. This was reported by BNN Bloomberg.
In response to the company's decision to increase salaries by 5.1% this year, NSEU representatives said they wanted an extra day of annual vacation and transparent performance-based bonuses.
“What we want is not a 1-2% wage increase. What we want is to be paid fairly for the amount of work done. “We want to be compensated for our labor fairly and transparently,” the union said in a statement.
The strike is scheduled to take place at all of the company's factories in South Korea on Friday, June 7. If it happens, it will be the first strike in Samsung's history since the company was founded in 1969.
The NSEU is the largest of the company's five labor unions. It currently includes more than 28,000 employees, which is about one-fifth of all employees, but not all of them will be involved in the action. It is also unknown whether other unions will join.
Over the past few weeks, protests have already taken place near the company's office and factory in Seoul. Also, if the company refuses to respond to the first strike and does not negotiate, the union is planning another one, but has not yet disclosed its date.
It is not yet known to what extent such an acacia strike will affect the company's operations, but union leaders do not expect a significant impact, as most of the operations on the production line are automated and the company has a large workforce.
Earlier, the company reported that it received $4.8 billion in operating profit. This means a 932.8% increase, which was due in part to the recovery in memory chip prices.
However, the company still has problems with its semiconductor business, which it is now trying to overcome. For example, Samsung recently replaced the head of the division.