The labor union at Samsung Biologics is increasingly likely to launch a strike for the first time since the company was founded in 2011.
According to the Samsung Biologics union on the 29th, a vote held that day on whether to take industrial action (a strike) drew 95.38% turnout among 3,678 eligible voters, with 95.52% of participants voting in favor.
The Samsung Biologics union has 3,689 members, about 75% of all employees.
The union and management have held 13 rounds of wage and collective bargaining talks but failed to reach an agreement.
The union is demanding an average 14% wage increase, a 30 million won bonus per person, dividends of 20% of operating profit as performance pay, and an allocation of treasury shares over three years.
It also proposed a condition requiring the union's prior consent when the company makes major management and personnel decisions.
Management, for its part, has proposed a 6.2% wage increase and has not narrowed the gap.
The union plans to enter informal talks as soon as John Rim returns to Korea. If no agreement is reached, it will begin collective action on the 21st of next month and move to a full-scale general strike on May 1.
If the strike materializes, concerns are mounting that it could disrupt the operating schedule of Samsung Biologics' contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) plants.