Samsung Display Begins First Strike Since Establishment on 21st... Dispute Countermeasure Committee Launched

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Samsung Display labor union, which declared a breakdown in wage negotiations with the company, will begin a strike centered on union executives starting from the 21st. This is the first strike since Samsung Display's establishment and the first strike within Samsung affiliates since Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics announced last year that he would abandon the principle of 'no union management.'

On the 21st, the Samsung Display union announced on the 16th that it will hold the launch ceremony of the union's dispute countermeasure committee at Samsung Display Asan 2 Campus and plans to hold a solidarity rally condemning the company's negotiation attitude. From that day, six union executives belonging to the dispute countermeasure committee will begin a preemptive strike. A union official said, "We will gradually increase the intensity of the dispute starting with the leading strike."

The union plans to continue the dispute actions until the currently stalled wage negotiations are concluded, without setting a separate strike period. However, the plan for dispute actions involving all union members has not yet been specifically decided.

Since early this year, the Samsung Display union has been negotiating wages with the company, demanding a basic increase rate of 6.8%, but the company has maintained the position that it is impossible to raise wages above the agreed standard increase rate of 4.5% with the existing labor-management council. Despite meetings between the union chairman and the CEO of Samsung Display, no consensus was reached, and after the final negotiations broke down earlier this month, the union decided to proceed with dispute actions.

Earlier, the union conducted a strike vote among its members, gaining majority support, and received a 'mediation suspension' ruling from the Central Labor Relations Commission of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, thereby securing legal strike rights. Recently, the union submitted a strike notice to the labor authorities and requested the company to provide a list of essential maintenance personnel, known as agreed workers, who cannot participate in the strike among the union members, proceeding with the dispute procedures.

Established under the Korean Federation of Trade Unions in February last year, the Samsung Display union has over 2,400 members, accounting for more than 10% of the total employees.

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