The Samsung Group Supra-Enterprise Labor Union Samsung Branch (supra-enterprise union), the largest union at Samsung Electronics, lost its majority-union status. The shift is seen as stemming from a mass exodus of members amid growing backlash over how performance bonuses were allocated by business unit after the wage deal was reached.
According to industry sources on the 4th, the supra-enterprise union's total membership stood at 58,270 as of 3 p.m. that day. As of the end of last year, Samsung Electronics had 128,881 employees, falling short of the majority threshold of 64,441.
During wage talks, the supra-enterprise union's membership topped 76,000, and in April it was recognized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) as the majority union and the representative of employees. But after a tentative wage agreement on the 20th of last month, member defections continued, with about 18,000 leaving the union, ultimately costing it majority-union status.
Industry observers believe many members who opposed the agreement withdrew from the union. In the vote on the agreement that closed on the 27th of last month, 80.6% (44,606 members) voted in favor, while 19.4% (10,727) opposed. The industry assesses that defections centered on those who cast no votes.
In fact, some members who left the supra-enterprise union appear to have moved to other unions. Membership at the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union (Jeonsamno) rose from 16,000 on the 20th of last month to 20,968 as of that day. The Samsung Electronics Labor Union Donghaeng (Donghaeng Union) also grew from the 2,600 range to 21,015 over the same period.
With the loss of majority-union status, the supra-enterprise union's bargaining power is expected to weaken. In upcoming wage and collective bargaining, it will have to unify the bargaining channel with groups such as Jeonsamno and the Donghaeng Union. Also, while previously, as the majority union, the union leader could directly appoint the employee representative and lead the labor-management council, it will likely be difficult to exercise such authority going forward.
Inside the union, backlash over how performance bonuses are allocated by business unit is cited as a key reason for the defections. Under the tentative agreement, if Samsung Electronics' operating profit reaches 300 trillion won this year, employees in the memory business unit of the Device Solutions (DS) institutional sector, which handles semiconductors, could receive up to about 600 million won in a combination of special management performance bonuses in the form of treasury shares and excess profit incentives (OPI). By contrast, employees in the Device eXperience (DX) institutional sector are expected to receive treasury shares worth about 6 million won per person.
Even within the DS institutional sector, non-memory units such as System LSI and Foundry are set to receive only the common pool (40%), putting their bonus amounts at an estimated maximum of 160 million won. Initially, within the DS institutional sector, there was a proposal to allocate 70% of the pool to the entire DS institutional sector and 30% differentially by business unit, but the final agreement set the ratio at 40% to 60%, reducing the share for non-memory units.
In response, the supra-enterprise union plans to pursue a "two-track bargaining" approach that separates the bargaining frameworks for the DS institutional sector and the DX institutional sector, while also holding a confidence vote on the 17th for the Chairperson to reorganize the organization.