"How Do We Report Attendance?" Confusion Among Samsung Electronics Union Participating in Strike

Concerns Over Disadvantages for Prolonged Absences
"Must Inform the Team Leader"
Number of Strike Participants Gradually Decreasing

"If participating in an indefinite general strike, how should attendance be reported?"

Since the 10th, the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union (JeonSamNo), which has entered an indefinite general strike, is wavering over whether to notify company colleagues in advance of strike participation through the internal attendance management system. Attention is focused on this issue as it could determine how many of the approximately 32,000 JeonSamNo members will participate in the strike.

At the rally held in front of the main gate of Samsung Electronics Hwaseong Plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on the 8th, when the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union, Samsung Electronics' largest union, declared a three-day general strike, union members are shouting slogans. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

According to Samsung Electronics employees on the 12th, many inquiries have recently been posted on JeonSamNo's official website asking, "If participating in an indefinite general strike, how should attendance be reported?" During the first general strike (August 8-10), union members who participated by selecting ‘strike attendance’ in the attendance management system began to question how to manage attendance to avoid disadvantages from absences as the strike lasted longer than initially expected.

‘Strike attendance’ means that if reported anytime from the day of participation until noon the next day, no disciplinary action or any disadvantages will be imposed. It is said that no supervisor approval is required; members only need to press a button in the attendance management system. Regular workers under the ‘flexible attendance system’ can participate in the strike in the morning, return to the office late in the afternoon, report the morning absence as strike attendance, work for just 10 minutes until official clock-out, and then leave. However, if no report is made and the employee does not come to work, it will be treated as ‘unauthorized absence’ and may result in disadvantages such as poor performance evaluations.

JeonSamNo is encouraging members not to report strike attendance. They believe that if members report in advance and participate in the strike, the company can preemptively identify the scale of personnel who will leave and prepare replacement workers.

Members’ reactions are sharply divided. While some have expressed their intention to join the strike without reporting strike attendance as encouraged by JeonSamNo, many are also conscious of potential damages that could arise if absences become prolonged. Comments on JeonSamNo’s website included opinions such as, "Since we will be working together again after the strike ends, even if you do not report strike attendance, shouldn’t you at least verbally inform your team leader and participate in the strike?"

The number of participants in the strike organized by JeonSamNo is gradually decreasing. When JeonSamNo declared the first three-day strike at Samsung Electronics’ Hwaseong campus on the 8th, it is estimated that about 2,000 to 3,000 people gathered on site. JeonSamNo stated that 6,540 members expressed their intention to participate in the first strike, but insiders agree that fewer actually gathered on site. On the 10th, when the indefinite strike was declared, the number on site was somewhat lower, and only about 350 people reportedly attended the strike promotion rally held in front of the 8-inch line building at the Giheung campus the day before.

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