Samsung Records first ever Workers Union strike in Korea

The Tech Giant, Samsung Electronics on Wednesday, the 29th of May 2024 recorded their first ever strike as a major union representing tens of thousands of workers said that they are keeping a 1 day strike as the company has failed to solve wages issues despite several notifications from the workers representatives.

Current situation and future Potentiality of the Strike

The potentiality of this strike is very strong as it is going to be felt worldwide as Samsung produces semiconductor chips for electronic gadgets. A spokesperson of the union said that 20 percent members amounting to 28000 workers would use annual leave on 7th June to go on a strike thus giving a major blow to the production phases of the chipsets. The potentiality of a general strike can be there too, he added thus increasing the tensions of the management.

Company management initiative and reply of Union

The management of the largest producer of memory chips have been in talks with workers as they ask for a hike and additional benefits since January, 2024 but have not been able to come to terms on the table. 

The president of the union, Son Woo Mok, said that the union has accepted the company’s proposed pay rise but was asking for an additional holiday along with a transparent system to measure the performance bonus of the workforce based on the sales profit.

Son went on to add, “the company is not hearing us and have not communicated since the last negotiation session. It could lead to a general strike.” 

A person from the management said, “Samsung will keep in dialogue with the union going forward as it had been.”

Previous Situations and how it has been tackled

According to critics, the company has dealt with these situations harshly so much that strikes have not been able to take place within the organisation. The late founder of the electronic giant clearly was opposed to the idea of strikes taking place within his workforce, and had said “I would not allow strikes until I have dirt over my eyes.” 

Result of the strike in the financial market

Seeing the possibility of general strike, the shares of the company tanked by 3 percent on Wednesday. This type of resentment has never been seen in the company before. 

Range of Samsung products and who owns it?

Samsung is the largest manufacturer of memory chips and semiconductors in the whole world and provides chips to its sister company NVIDIA which produces graphics card chipsets for smartphones, computers and laptops. Samsung also produces high end chipsets used for generative AI.

Both are owned and managed by the Samsung Group, one of the prime business conglomerates in South Korea that happens to be the 4th largest economy in SouthEast Asia.