Labor and management of Samsung Electronics have tried to negotiate at the last minute ahead of the general strike, but have rarely narrowed their differences. The union has made it clear that it will actually push ahead with the strike, saying it will consult with the management after the strike is over. As a result, all the presidents dispatched to meet with the union, but they only negotiated with each other to repeat their existing positions.
Four presidents of the semiconductor sector including Jeon Young-hyun, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics' device solutions division, visited the Pyeongtaek campus in Gyeonggi Province on Monday afternoon and met with union executives including the chairman of Samsung Electronics branch of the Seungho Choi Industrial Union. As the union announced a strike without further dialogue, the union tried to persuade the union in person. It was the first time that the presidents had a meeting with the union.
The positions of the two sides continued to be parallel. "Labor and management are both responsible for the strike, so we came with a desperate heart," the presidents said. "Let's continue dialogue before going on strike." Right before his visit to Pyeongtaek, he issued a public apology to 18 members of Samsung Electronics' presidents and said, "We will consider the union to be a family and a community of destiny and engage in dialogue in an open manner without any conditions."
The union's response was cold. Chairman Choi countered, "Since there is no trust in management at all, (negotiation) is possible only when there is an agenda for transparency of performance pay, abolition of the upper limit, and institutionalization, which are key demands."
Earlier, Samsung Electronics sent an official letter to the union at around 10 a.m. proposing a "conversation without conditions." The union's demand said, "In March, the National Labor Relations Commission proposed to choose between 10% operating profit and 10% economic value-added (EVA) from the existing OPI system and proposed a more flexible institutionalization plan by establishing a special compensation system with no additional upper limit while maintaining the existing OPI system."
In response, the union announced its plan to push ahead with the strike. "We are willing to hold discussions after June 7 (the end date of the strike)," Choi said. "We plan to implement the rights guaranteed by the Constitution well." The union has announced a general strike for 18 days from the 21st to the 7th of next month. At the post-adjustment meeting of the National Labor Relations Commission on the day, Choi disclosed some of the recorded files to the union members and the media, increasing the level of pressure. Critics say that the meeting was closed at the time and that the agreement on the recording was not confirmed, undermining trust.
As the labor-management conflict is heading toward catastrophe, the labor-management conflict is also growing. Members of the mobile and home appliance device experience (DX) sector have begun the process of applying for an injunction against the super-business union to sign wage negotiations and stop strikes.
The presidential office expressed concern about the strike, but was cautious about invoking the right to emergency coordination. "Samsung Electronics hopes that the strike situation will never come as it occupies a large part of the national economy," Lee Kyu-yeon, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communications, said in a briefing. "It is not a stage where the government can decide to invoke the right to emergency coordination, and I hope the labor-management consultation will be completed well."
Reporter Yang Yoon-sun (sun@kmib.co.kr )
Reporter Lee Donghwan
It seems that labor unions at large corporations are exploiting our country’s laws, which make it difficult to dismiss employees.
They appear to be following a course of action designed from the outset to lead to a strike.
In fact, I find myself wondering which union is behaving this way.
If the only answer is to force through demands rather than reach a settlement through dialogue and negotiation, then it is no longer a union that should be protected from abuses by management.