Production disruptions at Samsung Biologics are continuing for a third straight day due to a full-scale strike, raising concerns about large losses. With the union planning to continue the strike through the 5th as scheduled, labor and management are set to resume talks tomorrow.
According to the Samsung Biologics chapter of the Samsung Group Supra-Enterprise Labor Union on the 3rd, the union launched a full strike on Labor Day on the 1st and has continued it for three days through today. About 2,800 of the 4,000 members took part in the strike. That is more than half of Samsung Biologics' 5,455 employees.
The union said the strike is being conducted without separate rallies or demonstrations, by using annual leave and refusing to work on holidays.
The company estimates that the full strike has halted some production processes and will cause at least 640 billion won in losses. That is about half of first-quarter sales this year (1.2571 trillion won) and exceeds operating profit for the same period (580.8 billion won).
In a partial strike held for three days from Apr. 28 to 30, production of 23 products, including anticancer drugs and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatments, was suspended, which is estimated to have caused about 150 billion won in losses.
This first strike since the company's founding in 2011 was triggered as labor and management failed to bridge differences over wage increases and bonus distribution. Thirteen rounds of negotiations were held from December last year to March this year, but no agreement was reached, and the conflict has accumulated as no middle ground was found afterward.
The union is demanding a 30 million won bonus per person, an average 14% wage increase, and distribution of 20% of operating profit as performance bonuses. The company, by contrast, has proposed a 6.2% wage increase and is reluctant to accept the demands.
The union has defined this strike as a "first general strike," raising the possibility of additional strikes if talks break down. Labor and management plan to resume negotiations under the mediation of the Central Regional Employment and Labor Office, but for now, the gap between positions is wide, making an agreement uncertain. The union had earlier said it is also considering additional strikes.