On 29 May, a press conference was held in front of the Samsung Electronics Seocho office in Seocho-ku, Seoul, to declare the strike. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 5 (Korea Bizwire) – Tensions are escalating between factions within Samsung Electronics’ labor unions, with the company’s overarching union alleging misconduct by the National Samsung Electronics Union after it declared an unprecedented strike last month.
On the evening of June 3, A, the head of the DX division of Samsung’s enterprise union, posted a message on the company’s internal bulletin board, leveling accusations including the involvement of Korean Metalworkers’ Union officials in the national union’s member activities, the use of multiple accounts by the union’s leadership, and the alleged inflation of membership numbers to manipulate the number of workers exempted from duties.
A’s claims state that when the national union launched its website in 2020, it inflated membership figures and used internal employee account information without consent to falsely register non-union staff as members, maximizing the allotted work-exemption hours.
In the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, Samsung’s management granted over 15,000 work-exemption hours based on the national union’s claim of having over 4,000 members. Currently, eight officials, including the union’s chairman and vice-chairman, are working full-time without regular duties.
A’s post has been circulating on platforms like the workplace anonymous app Blind, exacerbating the rift between the unions.
In response, a representative from the national union told Yonhap News that while issues with inflated membership and multiple accounts were discovered during the previous leadership and rectified by the new administration, “We cannot fathom the intent behind dredging up problems from the former leadership at this critical juncture when we have declared a strike.”
Tensions have amplified in the wake of the historic strike declaration by the national union. On the day of the announcement, the enterprise union released a statement criticizing the move as motivated not by improving working conditions but rather as “a stepping stone for joining an umbrella union (the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions).”
Recently, allegations surfaced on Blind that members of the national union’s leadership vying for labor-management council seats had pressured competing candidates to withdraw their candidacies in exchange for union positions. The national union has not issued any statement regarding these claims.
With the upcoming holiday on June 6, some employees who had already submitted leave requests for June 7 have posted on Blind, contemplating whether to cancel their vacation plans due to the union’s planned single-day strike.
The National Samsung Electronics Union declared its first-ever strike on May 29, just a day after wage negotiations with management reached an impasse. The union has instructed its members to take a day off on June 7 and is staging an around-the-clock protest outside Samsung’s headquarters in Seocho, Seoul.
According to the union, its membership stood at 28,387 as of June 3. However, the actual number of participants in the planned single-day strike remains unclear, as the union is currently surveying members about their intent to join.
A union representative stated, “The possibility of dialogue with the company remains open,” adding, “We plan to take further action depending on the company’s response after June 7.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
