The Samsung Electronics union has finally declared it will launch a general strike.
The cross-company union's Samsung Electronics branch said on the 20th that it will proceed as planned with a general strike following the conclusion of the post-mediation process at the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). Samsung Electronics, immediately after the post-mediation ended, said it believes "if we accept the union's excessive demands as they are, the company's basic management principles could be shaken."
Choi Seung-ho, the cross-company union Chairperson, said in a statement that "the union worked diligently during the three days of post-mediation and did its best to find common ground," adding, "the union will lawfully launch a general strike tomorrow (the 21st) as scheduled."
Samsung Electronics labor and management held the second post-mediation's second meeting the previous day at the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in the Government Sejong Complex and negotiated overnight. Chairperson Choi said, "Around 10 p.m. the previous day, the union agreed to the mediation proposal presented by the NLRC, but management expressed its intention to reject it," adding, "just before the NLRC chair declared the mediation had failed, management's chief negotiator, Yeo Myeong-gu, withdrew the rejection and asked for time, which extended the talks to the third day."
Chairperson Choi held the third post-mediation meeting that morning but said management did not present a clear position. Choi said, "Even at 11 a.m. that day, management only repeated that 'no decision has been made' and ultimately did not present a position," adding, "the post-mediation ended under the NLRC's proceedings." Choi added, "We express deep regret that the post-mediation process ended due to management's delayed decision-making," and "it is regrettable that the mediation ended without management ultimately making a decision."
In its statement, Samsung Electronics said, "To prevent the worst-case scenario, we will not give up dialogue until the last moment," adding, "under no circumstances should there be a strike. We will continue efforts to resolve the issue until the end through additional mediation or direct talks with the union."
As for why the post-mediation failed to reach an agreement until the end, the company said, "The union did not back down from its demand to provide compensation of a scale that would be difficult to accept socially even for loss-making divisions, despite the company accepting most of the size and content of performance bonuses." It added, "The union's position directly violates the company's basic management principle that 'there is compensation where there is performance,'" and "we judged that abandoning this principle could adversely affect not only our company but also other corporations and industries."
The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), which mediated between Samsung Electronics labor and management, said in a press reference that "regarding the NLRC's mediation proposal, the labor side accepted it, while the management side said it was reserving acceptance and did not sign, so the second post-mediation failed." The NLRC plans to support labor-management negotiations by initiating mediation at any time if both sides agree and request post-mediation.
Park Su-keun, the NLRC Chairperson, said, "Mediation did not materialize because there was no common ground on two or three issues," adding, "it is regrettable." On the remaining issues, Park said, "One big one, and one or two small ones," but added, "labor and management also decided not to disclose the contents of the proposal. To leave room for future talks, it is difficult for the NLRC to disclose the details." Park added, "Substantively, the two sides came considerably closer," and "there was a lot of confrontation, but the Minister of Labor also helped, so progress was made toward common ground."