After concluding wage talks for Samsung Electronics at the Gyeonggi Employment and Labor Office in Jangan-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on the 20th, Ye Myung-gu, People Team Leader for Samsung Electronics DS (Device Solutions, semiconductors) (from left), Kim Young-hoon Minister of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL), and Choi Seung-ho, Chairperson of the Samsung Group Supra-Enterprise Labor Union Samsung Electronics Chapter, join hands after signing a tentative agreement./Courtesy of News1

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions said on the 21st that as wage and performance bonus negotiations between labor and management at Samsung Electronics were settled, the gains should also be distributed to non-regular and subcontracted workers.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said in a statement that day, "Today's Samsung union is the result of struggles fought at the risk of life by victims of industrial accidents in the semiconductor industry and non-regular workers at Samsung Electronics Service." It added, "The Samsung union must never forget this historical liability and spirit of struggle and has a duty to carry them on," and "The global achievements Samsung has reaped are not the exclusive property of regular workers at large corporations."

It continued, "It is the fruit of total social labor, combining the labor of non-regular workers at subcontractors and partner companies who withstood danger and harsh conditions with their whole bodies, and the infrastructure of local communities." The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said, "The gains from this settlement must rightly lead to improved treatment for subcontracted workers and returns to local communities," adding, "It is time to set aside the superior status of a so-called world-class corporate union and show mature solidarity by taking the lead in advancing the rights and interests of unorganized and vulnerable workers."

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions also said, "The achievements of large corporations must not remain only within the prime contractor," adding, "The growth and production of Samsung Electronics are the result created together by numerous partner companies and workers." It added, "Practical measures that innovate the entire industrial ecosystem must follow—such as improving the structure of subcontract prices, sharing technology and production gains, and strengthening win-win cooperation—so that the fruits of performance can be fairly distributed to partner company workers as well."

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