Thousands of unionised workers at Samsung Electronics in South Korea, who had declared a three-day strike last month, returned to work on Monday, 5 August, 2024, after failing to secure concessions from the global tech giant.
This marked the first unionised action in Samsung’s decades-long history, a company recognised as one of the world’s leading makers of computer chips. More than 6,500 workers—primarily from the manufacturing and product development units—participated in the three-day strike.
About 22 per cent of Samsung Electronic’s 1.25 lakh employees are members of this union, and they are seeking better pay, as well as changes in the bonus payout, leave for union members and so on. While the senior employees or executives are paid bonuses basis their personal performance targets, the bonus for employees in the lower rungs is reportedly calculated by subtracting the cost of capital from operating profits. Furthermore, the union seeks more paid leave for workers along with compensation for the loss of pay suffered during strikes.
In June, the union staged a single-day strike as a warning before commencing the indefinite walkout in July. Throughout this period, Samsung consistently assured that the labour action would not disrupt its operations, a stance it reiterated last week.
The financial strain of a prolonged, unpaid strike eventually compelled union leaders to issue a back-to-work order last week. The union, which has a strike fund of approximately 80 million won (around $60,000), has not disclosed if any of these funds were used.
With more than 31,000 members, the union plans to adopt guerrilla strikes or blitz walkouts, though the frequency and number of these planned strikes have not been disclosed.
