Samsung Display Reaches Tentative Agreement on First Labor-Management Collective Bargaining After 7 Months

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Samsung Display's labor and management reached a tentative agreement on the collective agreement on the 22nd, concluding a seven-month-long journey.

On the afternoon of the same day, the Samsung Display Labor Union stated, "Samsung Display's labor and management completed a tentative agreement on 151 clauses of the collective agreement after about seven months since the first main negotiation on May 26."

They added, "During the seven months, eight main negotiations and one representative negotiation were held, and after two breakdowns in collective bargaining and two rounds of mediation by the Central Labor Relations Commission, the tentative agreement was finally completed today."

They further explained, "As a result of the first mediation by the second Central Labor Relations Commission mediation committee, labor and management were recommended to renegotiate over two days, from the 21st to the 22nd of this month. Following the renegotiation, 12 contentious issues were collectively resolved, completing a tentative agreement on a total of 151 clauses." The signing ceremony for the collective agreement is scheduled for early January.

Earlier, after the Samsung Display union declared its launch under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) in February, it officially requested collective bargaining with management, and the first main collective bargaining session was held on May 26.

Since the collective bargaining was held shortly after Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's official declaration of 'abolishing the no-union policy,' it was regarded as a 'full-scale test' for establishing a new labor-management relationship at Samsung.

As this is the first wage and collective agreement negotiation since Samsung Display's founding, there were differences in views between labor and management regarding union activities before the collective agreement. Although this led to labor disputes, a consensus was reached between labor and management, resulting in this collective agreement.

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