Samsung employees striking for improved working conditions and better pay held a large rally in South Korea on Monday, marking the continuation of their protest into the third week.
Approximately 1,200 members of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) participated in the rally, marching through the Giheung campus in Yongin, according to reports. This event followed initial wage negotiation discussions between the union and Samsung that took place on Friday.
The NSEU initiated an indefinite strike on July 8 after an earlier attempt to secure workplace improvements did not yield the desired results. While the union represents over 30,000 employees, the exact number participating in the indefinite strike remains unclear. However, current actions are being recognized as the largest strike in the company’s history.
Despite Samsung’s projected second-quarter revenue increase of over 1,450% year-over-year, driven by a boom in artificial intelligence, and a tenfold profit surge for the first quarter of 2024, the NSEU has highlighted that workers are not receiving corresponding pay increases amid these record financial results.
Many strikers are employed at Samsung’s foundry, which specializes in producing highly advanced computer chips. Experts have noted that Samsung has a long-standing reputation for being adversarial towards unions and lacks experience in negotiating with its workforce.
Vladimir Tikhonov, a professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, stated that if Samsung workers succeed in their efforts, it could empower labor movements throughout South Korea.