Unions demand transparency over performance-based bonuses
Union workers at Samsung Electronics have voted to support a general strike in May to call for transparency on performance-based bonuses, according to reports.
The strike was announced by the joint labour coalition, Joint Struggle Headquarters, which brings together a combined 90,000 members of the Samsung Group United Union Samsung Electronics Co. Union, the National Samsung Electronics Union, and the Samsung Electronics Co. Union.
The coalition said over 73% of its members participated in the vote, and 93.1% of the participants supported the strike plan.
The industrial action will begin with a large-scale rally planned for April 23. If no progress is made, a full-scale general strike will be held from May 21 to June 7, according to The Korea JoongAng Daily.
"If the strike proceeds, semiconductor output could fall to about half of normal levels," Choi Seung-ho, head of the Samsung Electronics chapter of the SGUU, told the news outlet.
"Rather than absorbing astronomical losses, the company should invest those resources in labour-management coexistence."
Samsung union demands
As part of the strike, the unions are calling for greater transparency in performance-based bonuses, the removal of bonus caps, and a seven per cent increase in base salaries.
Negotiations between the union and Samsung have been under way since November, The Korea Herald reported.
According to the report, Samsung is proposing a 6.2% wage increase and a revised bonus framework where employees could choose to base their operating profit incentive pool on either 20% of economic value added or 10% of operating profit.
The talks broke down in February, and mediation that was sought was halted by a government arbitration commission earlier this month.
If the strike goes ahead, this would be the company's second-ever strike since it was founded in 1969. The first strike, which lasted 25 days in July 2024.
