Samsung employees advocating for improved working conditions and higher wages gathered for a significant rally in South Korea on Monday, marking the third week of their strike against the company.
Approximately 1,200 members of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) participated in the rally, marching through the Giheung campus in Yongin, as reported by the Associated Press.
This demonstration followed initial wage negotiation discussions between the union and Samsung that took place on Friday, according to Bloomberg.
The union members originally declared an indefinite strike on July 8 after a previous walkout did not achieve the desired improvements in their workplace conditions.
While the union represents over 30,000 workers, it remains unclear how many are participating in the indefinite strike. Nonetheless, this strike has become the largest in the history of the technology giant.
Samsung anticipates a more than 1,450% year-over-year increase in second-quarter revenue, driven by an AI boom, and has reported a tenfold rise in profits for the first quarter of 2024. However, the NSEU claims that workers have not benefited from these record profits through increased wages.
Many striking employees are employed at Samsung’s foundry, which manufactures some of the world’s most advanced computer chips.
Experts indicate that Samsung has a long-standing reputation for being unyielding towards unions and lacks experience in effectively negotiating with its workforce.
A professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, Vladimir Tikhonov, remarked that if Samsung workers succeed in their efforts, it could strengthen labor movements across South Korea.