Samsung Biologics labor and management failed to reach an agreement in this year's wage and collective bargaining talks.
The Samsung Biologics Win-Win Labor Union said on the 13th that official negotiations with the company had finally broken down. The two sides held 13 rounds of talks from the kickoff meeting on Dec. 23 last year through the day but failed to reach a deal. With the collapse of negotiations, the union filed for labor dispute mediation with the Incheon Regional Labor Relations Commission.
The union said, "If mediation falls through, we plan to take collective action," but noted, "Specific dates have not yet been set." The union also plans to file criminal complaints and accusations with the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) next week over violations of the collective agreement, violations of the Labor Standards Act, and unpaid wages.
In this round of talks, the union raised disciplinary measures against those responsible for last year's leak of HR documents and supplementation of the collective agreement on personal information protection as key issues.
Earlier, Samsung Biologics sparked controversy in November last year when HR team materials containing resident registration numbers, academic backgrounds, salaries, and performance evaluations of about 5,000 employees were leaked internally.
The union also put wage increases and improvements in benefits forward as core demands.
During the negotiations, the union is said to have proposed introducing a "4.5-day workweek" that would reduce working hours from 40 to 36 per week and creating a monthly 300,000 won hazard allowance for employees involved in antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) processes.
ADC is a treatment technology that delivers a drug (payload) selectively to cancer cells by conjugating it to an antibody. The union argued that because the payload poses toxic risks, employees involved in processes or quality control should receive a hazard allowance.
For wage increases, the union proposed a 9.3% raise this year plus an additional 3 million won.
Earlier, when the HR document leak surfaced last year, the company paid each employee an encouragement bonus of 4 million won through labor-management agreement. In January this year, it also paid an over-profit incentive (OPI) equivalent to 50% of employees' annual salaries. OPI is a Samsung Group incentive program paid at the beginning of the following year based on annual performance.
The company says the union's demands are excessive.
A Samsung Biologics official said, "The company has paid incentives equal to 50% of annual salaries for three consecutive years and implemented the industry's highest-level wage increases for two consecutive years, working to provide compensation commensurate with performance and to motivate employees."
The official added, "Even in this situation, the union continues to make demands that are difficult for the company to accept, increasing the burden on the company's competitiveness and growth," while saying, "We will continue to negotiate in good faith with the union to ensure the wage talks can be concluded smoothly."