Samsung Display Labor and Management Resume Wage Negotiations but Fail to Reach Agreement... Further Talks Scheduled for Next Week

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Samsung Display labor and management resumed wage negotiations on the 2nd after about a month, but ended without any significant progress, increasing the possibility of strikes and other labor disputes.

According to the Samsung Display Labor Union, in the afternoon of the day, Samsung Display and union co-chairs Kim Jeongran and Lee Changwan held the "2021 Wage Negotiation Representative Negotiation," but it reportedly ended without any meaningful results.

The union stated, "The company presented a proposal, but it was unrelated to wage negotiations," adding, "Compared to the union's demands, it was minimal, so we suspended the meeting and requested the company to present the maximum possible proposal again, giving them sufficient time, but ultimately, we did not receive a final proposal."

Labor and management agreed to resume negotiations on the 9th. The union said, "We will consider the final proposal next week based on the intentions of President Choi Juseon, and the union will consult with delegates and executives to decide whether to take labor action and its extent."

The negotiation on this day was held after a meeting on the 25th of last month between President Choi Juseon and co-chairs Kim Jeongran and Lee Changwan. At that time, the union demanded that the company disclose the supporting data related to the new negotiation proposal for wage talks, criticizing the company for not presenting a proper negotiation proposal so far, and President Choi reportedly promised to instruct the company's representatives to engage sincerely in the negotiations.

Samsung Display labor and management have been conducting wage negotiations for three months since February, but at the end of April, the union declared a breakdown in response to the company's negotiation attitude. Subsequently, the union received 91% support in a strike vote among members and secured the legal right to strike following the Ministry of Employment and Labor's "mediation termination" ruling last month.

With the resumed negotiations ending without progress, the possibility of the first-ever strike at Samsung Display is increasing. If the Samsung Display union goes on strike, it will be the first strike among Samsung Group's electronics affiliates since Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics declared the end of union-free management in May last year.

The Samsung Display union was established under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions in February last year. Currently, the number of union members is about 2,400, exceeding 10% of the total employees.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.