Samsung Electronics Holds First Meeting with Joint Negotiation Team Today... Collective Bargaining Begins

On the 29th, when Samsung Electronics announced its confirmed third-quarter earnings, employees were coming and going at the Samsung Electronics building in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Despite the resurgence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Samsung Electronics achieved a record high with third-quarter sales approaching 67 trillion won this year. Operating profit also exceeded 10 trillion won for the first time in two years. The third-quarter operating profit was 12.3533 trillion won, an increase of 58.83% compared to the same period last year. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Samsung Electronics labor and management will hold a meet-and-greet and begin the first collective bargaining session on the 3rd.

According to the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), the Samsung Electronics Joint Labor Union Negotiation Team, composed of four Samsung Electronics unions, and the FKTU-affiliated Korean Metal Workers' Union Federation (Metal Federation) will hold a meet-and-greet and the first main collective bargaining session with management from 10 a.m. at the FKTU conference room in Yeouido, Seoul.

At the meet-and-greet, management is expected to be represented by Vice President Ki-hong Na, Head of the Human Resources Planning Group in the Management Support Office, and Executive Director Wan-woo Choi, in charge of HR for the DS Division. On the union side, Chairman Man-bae Kim and Senior Vice Chairman Hae-kwang Kim of the Metal Federation, along with members of the joint negotiation team, will attend. The first negotiation will discuss detailed matters to guarantee union activities, such as the union's full-time system.

This collective bargaining session is the first to include all four Samsung Electronics unions. Previously, collective bargaining was conducted individually with each union but did not result in a collective agreement. Samsung Electronics is composed of the Samsung Electronics Office Workers' Union (1st union) without an upper-level organization, the Samsung Electronics Gumi Branch Union (2nd union), the Samsung Electronics Union (3rd union), and the National Samsung Electronics Union (4th union) under the Metal Federation of the FKTU. To coordinate opinions among the unions and conduct efficient negotiations, they launched the joint negotiation team last September.

Typically, it takes several months or more to conclude a collective agreement, but if one is reached, it will be the first in Samsung Electronics' 51-year history. Earlier, Vice Chairman Jae-yong Lee of Samsung Electronics promised in May, "We will ensure that the term 'no union management' is no longer used." Subsequently, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, a Samsung financial affiliate, signed its first collective agreement in August after 68 years since its founding. Samsung Display, an electronics affiliate, began collective bargaining in May, and Samsung SDI's Ulsan union has been conducting collective bargaining since September.

Considering that less than two months passed from the launch of the joint negotiation team to the start of collective bargaining after preliminary negotiations at Samsung Electronics, there is an observation that management is quickly embracing union culture as promised by Vice Chairman Lee. A representative from the Samsung Electronics union stated, "Although there were some differences in views between labor and management regarding the provision of separate union offices and temporary full-time status for negotiation participants during two preliminary negotiations last month, I understand that the discussions concluded with maximum guarantees."

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