Samsung Electronics’ largest union in South Korea announced it would start an indefinite strike on Wednesday after a previous three-day walkout failed to secure the workplace gains its members are fighting for.
The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) said its union of 31,000 members was striking after 6,000 of its members who largely work in the semiconductor division went on strike earlier in the week, CNN reported.
NSEU workers, who comprise about a quarter of the company’s workforce, are calling for better pay and bonuses and improved working conditions.
The union said Samsung will “regret” not coming to the bargaining table.
“It will take a long time to restore facilities that are shut down due to a strike,” Soon Woomok, a union leader, told CNN.
Samsung expects its second quarter operation to rise more than 1,450% year-over-year thanks to an AI boom and reported a 10-fold jump in profits for the first three months of 2024. But workers say they aren’t seeing that success translate into pay.
“The company is not treating the employees properly,” Woomok told CNN on Monday. “Even though the operating profit is high, the company has been saying it’s in a crisis situation for over 10 years, and employees are increasingly dissatisfied with the lack of performance bonus increases.”
Samsung told the outlet it is “committed to engaging in good faith negotiations with the union,” and said it will ensure the strike doesn’t disrupt its production lines.