‘Labor-Labor Conflict’ Spreads Amid Deadlocked Samsung Labor-Management Negotiations
A view of the Samsung Electronics headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
Samsung Electronics’ labor and management are continuing negotiations over the distribution of performance bonuses, but the deadlock is expected to persist for the time being.
According to the industry on May 18, Samsung Electronics’ labor and management resumed their second post-mediation meeting at the National Labor Relations Commission at the Government Complex Sejong on the morning of this day and agreed to continue negotiations until May 19.
On this day, the injunction to prohibit illegal industrial action filed by Samsung Electronics against the union was partially cited by the court. Civil Division 31 of the Suwon District Court decided on the injunction filed by Samsung Electronics that the workforce for maintaining safety protection facilities, preventing facility damage, and preventing product deterioration must be maintained at the usual level.
However, as this decision is limited to some core tasks, it is not expected to prevent the majority of union members from participating in the strike itself. Regarding the partial citation decision, the Samsung Electronics United Union stated, “We respect the court’s judgment,” but added, “The industrial action scheduled for May 21 will proceed as planned.” They further claimed, “As the court’s decision only requires maintaining ‘staffing at the level of weekends or consecutive holidays,’ the actual number of personnel deployed could be fewer than 7,000, so there are no significant restrictions on the industrial action.”
Nevertheless, there are significant expectations that the worst-case scenario of a strike can be prevented. Even after the partial citation of the injunction on this day, the union mentioned, “We will faithfully engage in the ongoing labor-management negotiations with the goal of reaching a settlement.”
An industry official said, “The fact that both labor and management agreed to the post-mediation by the National Labor Relations Commission means there is a will to continue the dialogue,” adding, “However, if they ultimately fail to narrow their differences in stance, the government will eventually have to invoke its power of emergency adjustment.”
Meanwhile, internal cracks within Samsung Electronics are deepening. The conflict between the semiconductor (DS) and home appliance and mobile (DX) divisions has spread into a legal dispute, and it appears that the collapse of trust within the organization is also emerging. Analysts say that ‘invisible losses’ that are difficult to convert into numbers have already begun before the start of the general strike.
According to related industries on May 18, 5 union members from the DX division filed an injunction to suspend collective bargaining against the Samsung Electronics United Union with the court on May 15. They claimed that there were procedural problems in the United Union’s process of gathering opinions from union members. Complaints that the DX division was marginalized in the wage negotiation process eventually escalated into a legal lawsuit.
The long-deadlocked wage negotiations have brought dormant conflicts within Samsung Electronics to the surface. The conflict between the DS and DX divisions is a prime example. The two divisions, which have different business structures, have experienced clashes of interests in the past, but through this incident, it has expanded into an emotional battle. It has reached the point where a union executive even made the remark, “We are prepared for a spin-off.”
Employees in the DS division are putting phrases such as ‘May 21 to June 7 general strike’ in their internal messenger profiles, and some employees in the DX division are adding ‘Opposition to the strike’ in protest. It has reached the extent that the DS division announced to department heads, “We ask for meticulous management so that no department members suffer from pressure and conflict depending on whether they participate in the strike.”
Internal trust is also shaking. It is known that there have been cases where public criticism of the company, abusive language, and personal attacks were made in front of executives. Executives are avoiding encounters with employees, and manager-level employees are not hesitating to make remarks to their department members that they should prepare to change jobs. New employees are even forming study groups to move to competitor companies.
Even if the general strike does not materialize, the traces of the cracks are not expected to disappear easily. There is already a significant number of employees who have applied for annual leave in time for the strike period. Within the DS division, there are also concerns that the phenomenon of avoiding the foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) and System LSI business units could worsen.
The industry points out that this could go beyond a simple labor-management conflict and damage the organization’s competitiveness itself. The analysis is that if the long-accumulated collaborative culture and organizational trust in the semiconductor industry are shaken, it could lead to a decline in productivity. Inquiries related to the strike are already coming in from client companies.
In particular, such losses are assessed as more dangerous as they are not immediately revealed in numbers like a ‘100 trillion won ($76.92 billion) loss’. The fact that Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and the Samsung Electronics presidents emphasized ‘family’ is also interpreted as a direction to restore labor-management trust and rebuild organizational culture from a long-term perspective.
A department head-level employee at Samsung Electronics said, “With this incident as a catalyst, there is an atmosphere where the dissatisfaction with the company that has been accumulating over the years is bursting out all at once,” adding, “Even after the wage negotiations are concluded, the process of restoring trust and relationships within the organization will be a greater challenge.”
Jung Suk-yee
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