Samsung Electronics labor and management held a preliminary meeting on the 17th ahead of government mediation on the 18th.
Choi Seung-ho, Chairperson of the Samsung Group Supra-Enterprise Labor Union Samsung Electronics Chapter (hereafter the supra-enterprise union), said that day, "We held an informal meeting at the request of Ye Myung-gu, head of the DS (semiconductor institutional sector) People Team."
Head of Team Ye serves as the chief negotiator for management in Samsung Electronics labor-management talks.
Chairperson Choi said that at the first post-mediation session of the Central Labor Relations Commission (CLRC) that day, the CLRC presented a proposal that retreated from the performance bonus criteria it had suggested, and noted that it was mentioned, "Can't this be resolved with the chairperson's leadership?"
On this, Choi said, "I conveyed that it was unacceptable, and said we would not agree if they take the same stance at tomorrow's post-mediation."
Chairperson Choi explained that the retreated plan would keep the cap on the OPI (excess profit performance bonus) pool at 50% of annual salary, allow choosing between 20% of EVA (economic value added) or 10% of operating profit, and, if the semiconductor (DS) institutional sector's operating profit exceeds 200 trillion won, split an additional 9–10% of operating profit, separate from OPI, 60% across the entire institutional sector and 40% by business unit.
Chairperson Choi said, "In addition, management is hinting at an emergency adjustment power and pressuring the union," adding, "The company's attitude also seems to have changed after the government mentioned an emergency adjustment."
A preliminary meeting with management was also held the previous day. At that meeting, Head of Team Ye apologized for the damage to labor-management trust and promised to engage faithfully in negotiations. However, it appears to reflect the claim that management reverted to a high-handed attitude after Prime Minister Kim Min-seok that day hinted at the possibility of invoking the emergency adjustment power in a national address.
Chairperson Choi said, "(Management) said the union would struggle if it goes to an emergency adjustment or mediation, so I said, 'Let's stop talking,' and left," adding, "They pressure us by saying the (union's) damage will be great, but we will not yield."
Samsung Electronics labor and management are scheduled to hold a second post-mediation meeting at the Sejong CLRC starting at 10 a.m. on the 18th.