Employees of Samsung are on strike in South Korea, demanding better working conditions and higher wages, with a significant rally held on Monday as their protest enters its third week.
Approximately 1,200 members of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) marched at the Giheung campus in Yongin. This demonstration occurred after initial wage negotiations between the union and Samsung took place on Friday.
The NSEU had declared an indefinite strike starting on July 8, following an unsuccessful earlier walkout aimed at securing workplace improvements. While the union represents over 30,000 employees, specifics on the number participating in the indefinite strike remain unclear. Nonetheless, this ongoing strike is the largest in the history of the technology giant.
Despite Samsung’s expectations of a more than 1,450% year-over-year increase in second-quarter revenue attributed to an AI boom and a tenfold rise in profits for the first quarter of 2024, the NSEU has reported that workers have not benefited from these financial successes through wage increases.
Many striking employees are engaged in chip manufacturing at Samsung’s foundry, which produces some of the world’s most advanced computer chips. Industry experts note that Samsung has a reputation for being antagonistic towards unions and has limited experience in negotiating with its workforce.
According to Vladimir Tikhonov, a professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, if Samsung workers achieve their goals, it could significantly empower the labor movement across South Korea.