The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) has suspended planned strike action after a tentative agreement with the company was reached.
Negotiations between the two parties initially collapsed on Wednesday (May 20), but another round of talks led by Kim Young-hoon, South Korea’s minister for labor and employment, led to strike action being postponed.
– National Samsung Electronics Union
Unionized workers at Samsung’s South Korean facilities voted in March to launch an 18-day general strike after talks with the company broke down. Employees have been asking for improved transparency with regard to how performance-based bonuses are calculated, in addition to the removal of a cap on bonuses and a seven percent wage increase.
Labor unions have been asking that workers within the company’s chip division receive a share of 15 percent of its operating profits, in addition to the removal of the 50 percent bonus cap and a seven percent pay increase. In April, Samsung reportedly offered workers a 10 percent profit allocation, a 6.2 percent pay increase, and additional benefits such as preferential mortgage loans, a deal which the union rejected.
