Samsung Display Union Starts First Strike Since Establishment Today... Begins Tent Sit-in Protest

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Samsung Display labor union launched its first strike since the company's founding on the 21st. This is the first strike within the Samsung Group since Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics declared the end of union-free management in May last year. The union plans to escalate the strike by starting with a preemptive strike led by executives rather than a full strike involving most union members.

According to the Samsung Display union, on the morning of the 21st, the union held a send-off ceremony for the dispute countermeasure committee at the Samsung Display Asan 2 Campus and began a limited preemptive strike involving six union executives, including Jeon Sang-min, the head of the dispute countermeasure committee. From early dawn on the same day, a tent sit-in protest also began in front of the cafeteria at Asan 2 Campus. The union has not set a specific duration for the strike and plans to continue the dispute actions until the currently stalled wage negotiations are concluded. A union official explained, "We will gradually increase the intensity of the dispute depending on the attitude of the management."

This strike emerged due to the breakdown of wage negotiations. The Samsung Display union has been negotiating wages since early this year and has demanded a basic raise rate of 6.8%. On the other hand, the management expressed reluctance, stating that due to the emergency management situation caused by COVID-19 and other factors, it is impossible to exceed the agreed standard raise rate of 4.5% set by the existing labor-management council.

In response, the union declared the breakdown of wage negotiations after collective bargaining at the end of April and secured the right to strike through a union member vote on dispute actions and a ruling of mediation suspension by the Central Labor Relations Commission of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Subsequently, on the 25th of last month, Samsung Display President Choi Ju-seon and union co-chairs Kim Jeong-ran and Lee Chang-wan sat at the negotiation table again but failed to narrow their differences.

This strike is the first since Vice Chairman Lee's declaration to end union-free management in May last year. Among all Samsung affiliates, the Samsung Electronics Service union previously conducted strikes in 2014 and 2019. The Samsung Display union was established under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions in February last year and has about 2,400 members, exceeding 10% of the total employees.

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