Samsung employees advocating for improved working conditions and increased pay held a large 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) gathered and marched at the Giheung campus in Yongin, as reported by the Associated Press. This event followed initial wage negotiation discussions between the union and Samsung that took place on Friday, according to Bloomberg.
The NSEU announced an indefinite strike on July 8 after an earlier walkout failed to achieve the workplace improvements its members sought. While the union represents over 30,000 workers, it remains uncertain how many are participating in the ongoing indefinite strike, which is already the largest in Samsung’s history.
Despite Samsung Electronics anticipating a more than 1,450% year-over-year increase in second-quarter revenue driven by an AI boom, and reporting a tenfold increase in profits for the first quarter of 2024, the NSEU argued that workers are not benefitting from these record financial results through higher pay.
Most striking workers are employed at Samsung’s foundry, where they produce advanced computer chips, as noted by AFP.
Experts indicate that Samsung has a reputation for being antagonistic toward unions and lacks substantial experience in negotiating with its workforce. Professor Vladimir Tikhonov, a scholar of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, remarked that if Samsung employees succeed in this endeavor, it could empower the broader labor movement in South Korea.