Employees at Samsung Electronics are on strike for improved working conditions and higher wages, and they held a significant rally on Monday in South Korea, marking the third week of their ongoing action.
Approximately 1,200 members of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) gathered and marched at the Giheung campus located in Yongin, South Korea, as reported.
This demonstration followed initial wage negotiations that took place between the union and Samsung last Friday. The union workers initially declared an indefinite strike on July 8 after previous efforts to secure workplace improvements did not yield results.
While the union represents over 30,000 employees, it remains unclear how many are actively participating in the indefinite strike. Nonetheless, this current strike is noted to be the largest in the company’s history.
Despite Samsung Electronics projecting a more than 1,450% increase in second-quarter revenue due to a boom in artificial intelligence and reporting a ten-fold profit increase for the first quarter of 2024, the NSEU emphasized that workers are not receiving corresponding wage increases.
Many of the striking employees are involved in the company’s foundry, where they manufacture some of the world’s most advanced computer chips.
Experts point out that Samsung has a notorious reputation for being resistant to unionization and lacks experience in negotiations with its workforce. According to Vladimir Tikhonov, a professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, if Samsung workers achieve success in their current efforts, it could significantly empower labor movements across South Korea.