The Samsung SDS union formally demanded collective bargaining from management a day after its launch. As the internal conflict sparked by the performance bonus system overhaul spread quickly, membership topped 4,000 on the day.
On Jul. 7, according to the information technology (IT) industry, the Samsung Group supra-company labor union's Samsung SDS chapter submitted a collective bargaining request to CEO and President Lee June-hee of Samsung SDS.
The union drew more than 2,000 employees as members about two hours after it began accepting applications at 6 p.m. on the 6th, and the number surged to 4,342 at about 1:30 p.m. on the day. Samsung SDS has about 11,000 employees in total. The union set a goal of securing a majority with more than 5,500 members.
The performance bonus system overhaul is cited as the background for the union's launch. Samsung SDS has paid bonuses in cash until now, but it is holding a vote on changing to payment in company stock equivalent to about 20% of annual salary going forward. The vote closes at midnight on the day.
Employees opposing the overhaul are pushing back, saying company stock bonuses are tied to external indicators such as share price fluctuations, industry indexes, and external conditions, making them hard to cash out, and are disadvantageous because they are excluded from severance pay calculations.
In a separate statement on the day, the union said, "The overhaul was carried out unilaterally and failed to gain support on the ground, and the repeated briefings and the excessive persuasion to participate in the vote shook members' trust and left scars," adding, "If the company shows a sincere attitude toward communication, we are ready to respond with an open mind at any time."