Employees of Samsung Electronics are continuing their strike for improved working conditions and higher wages, with a significant rally taking place in South Korea on Monday, marking the third week of their protest.
Around 1,200 members of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) gathered and marched at the Giheung campus in Yongin, as reported by various sources.
The rally followed initial wage negotiation discussions between the union and Samsung that occurred on Friday. Union members first announced their indefinite strike on July 8 after a previous walkout did not yield the desired workplace improvements.
While the union represents over 30,000 workers, it remains unclear how many are participating in the indefinite strike, which is noted as the largest in the company’s history.
Despite Samsung’s projection of a significant revenue increase of over 1,450% year-on-year due to the rising demand for AI technology, and a tenfold increase in profits reported for the first quarter of 2024, the NSEU claims that employees have not experienced any corresponding pay raises.
The striking workers primarily come from Samsung’s foundry operations, where they manufacture cutting-edge computer chips.
Samsung has a reputation for being unfriendly towards union activities and lacks experience in negotiating with its workforce, according to experts. Should the workers’ efforts succeed, it could strengthen the labor movement across South Korea, as noted by Vladimir Tikhonov, a professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo.