After concluding wage negotiations for Samsung Electronics at the Gyeonggi Regional Employment and Labor Office in Jangan-gu, Suwon, on the 20th, Yeo Myeong-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 Super Enterprise Labor Union Samsung Electronics Branch, 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, with Samsung Electronics labor and management reaching a deal on wages and performance bonuses, results should also be shared with nonregular and subcontracted workers.

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

It continued, "It is the fruit of total social labor that combines the labor of nonregular workers at subcontractors and partner firms 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 agreement must rightfully 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 the maturity of 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 results 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 pricing, sharing technological and production gains, and strengthening win-win cooperation, so that the fruits of performance can be fairly distributed to partner-company workers as well."

※ This article has been translated by AI. Share your feedback here.