Court Partially Grants Injunction, Limiting Only Final Purification Work
Headquarters building of Samsung Biologics. (Photo courtesy of Samsung Biologics)
Samsung Biologics filed an application for an injunction against industrial action against the labor union that had announced a strike, and the application was partially granted. As a result, only minimum operations will be maintained exclusively for the purification finishing process within the biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) production process. The company immediately appealed the court’s ruling, but there appears to be practically no way to fully restrict the strike announced for May 1. The court’s decision is significant in that it narrowly interpreted the scope of “work to prevent deterioration or spoilage of raw materials and products” under the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act.
According to the pharmaceutical and bio industry on April 24, the Incheon District Court ruled on April 23 that Samsung Biologics must not issue directives or distribute guidelines to halt operations for processes including concentration/buffer exchange, bulk filling, and buffer manufacturing/supply, in response to the company’s application for an injunction against industrial action.
The company had filed an injunction application with the court in March, arguing that “work to prevent the deterioration or spoilage of thawed cell lines” must not be suspended. The company demanded a ban on industrial action for nine processes: flask culture, bioreactor culture, recovery, medium manufacturing/supply, chromatography, virus filtration, concentration/buffer exchange, bulk filling, and buffer manufacturing/supply. However, the court effectively recognized only three final purification finishing processes. As a result, workers in the remaining six processes became eligible to participate in the strike.
The central legal issue surrounding the court’s decision was the interpretation of Article 38, Paragraph 2 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act. The provision stipulates that “work to prevent damage to work facilities or deterioration or spoilage of raw materials and products must be carried out normally even during a period of industrial action.” The scope of work to prevent deterioration or spoilage of raw materials and products was accordingly the key point of contention, and the court held that production activities and deterioration/spoilage prevention work must be distinguished from one another.
The company immediately appealed the court’s decision. A Samsung Biologics representative stated, “We have received the decision and confirmed that it was partially granted,” adding, “We have immediately filed an appeal against the portions that were not granted.” The representative further conveyed, “The company will make efforts to conclude wage negotiations smoothly through dialogue with the union.” However, if the union proceeds with the strike, there is practically no way to stop it.
The company is seeking contingency measures in preparation for the union’s determination to proceed with the strike. One such measure is the deployment of new employees. In response, the union raised concerns, stating, “Deploying workers without sufficient training into production processes and logistics roles could compromise safety and the quality of pharmaceutical production.”
In response, a Samsung Biologics representative countered, “New employees are expected to be assigned primarily to production support duties such as material movement, rather than core production processes,” and said, “They will be limited to daytime work rather than shift work and will serve in an auxiliary capacity, ensuring that no quality issues or safety accidents arise.”
As the strike announced by the union for May 1 appears likely to proceed as planned, attention is also focused on the scale of union member participation. At the rally of fighting resolve held on April 22, approximately 2,000 to 2,500 people participated. Considering the total union membership of 3,435, this represents approximately 58% to 73%.
Park Jae-seong, chairperson of the Samsung Biologics Mutual Prosperity Union, commented on the court’s ruling: “It is a partial grant, and the ruling states that work must be carried out only for certain processes involved in product finalization,” adding, “We expect there will be no significant obstacles to the strike.”
Choi Mun-hee
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