In the first ever strike at Samsung, the electronics giant, the employees have stayed away from work for a day in South Korea. This strike was planned and announced on 29 May, 2024.
Most of the participants in the Samsung strike are employees belonging to the chip division. The workers have been disappointed that despite several rounds of discussions and negotiations, there has been no concrete outcome.
As per the Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union, which is the biggest among five labour unions of the company, the majority of its 28,000 members had favoured the strike call.
The one-day strike, however, has been planned and timed such that there will not be much disruption in terms of manufacturing or much inconvenience to the general public.
However, the strike comes at a most inconvenient time for the company, which is desperately attempting to gain the trust of clients and investors, assuring them of its ability to fulfil the demand for chips amidst the widespread use of artificial intelligence, worldwide.
It is pertinent to mention here that after four years of losses consecutively, Samsung posted a profit of about $1.4 billion in Q1 this year.
The company, reportedly, has been negotiating wages with the union since January this year, but to no avail.
Although the union had accepted the company’s proposed pay raise, it was also seeking an additional holiday and a transparent system to measure performance bonuses based on sales profit.
