Samsung Biologics labor and management failed to find common ground in an afternoon meeting after a morning session on the 4th, keeping to parallel lines. The two sides plan to hold two additional meetings on the 6th and 8th.
According to the Samsung Biologics win-win chapter of the Samsung Group supra-enterprise labor union on the 4th, labor and management held two meetings, in the morning and afternoon, mediated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) Central Regional Employment and Labor Office, but wrapped up without presenting concrete agenda items or producing a negotiation direction. In effect, with the afternoon meeting ending without results, only the gap between the two sides' positions was reaffirmed.
Earlier, in the first tripartite labor-management-government meeting that ran for about two hours from 10:15 a.m. to 12:10 p.m., the two sides did not reach an agreement. From 1:30 p.m. to 4:10 p.m., additional discussions continued with labor and management each meeting with the labor ministry, but they ended without notable results.
Before the meeting, the union said the talks were not the final negotiating table but a chance to confirm management's will to resolve the issue. It added that it would continue the full strike as scheduled through the 5th and return to the sites from the 6th to begin an indefinite work-to-rule action. The work-to-rule action will proceed by refusing overtime and holiday work.
The union said management demanded a halt to industrial action and mutual withdrawal of litigation related to unfair labor practices but did not present a substantive revised plan, and the union rejected the request. After the first meeting, the union said in a statement that "the labor union would only lower the intensity of industrial action without gaining anything," indicating it would be difficult to accept.
In addition, during the negotiations, there was criticism that working-level staff attended in place of Samsung Biologics CEO John Rim, the top decision-maker on the management side, creating a mismatch between decision-making authority and level of responsibility. The union has demanded the participation of a responsible person with real authority.
The two sides agreed to continue additional talks going forward. On the 6th, a one-on-one meeting is scheduled between the chief negotiators of labor and management, and on the 8th, a tripartite labor-management-government meeting with the labor ministry participating is set to be held again.
The union is demanding an average 14% wage increase, a 30 million won incentive per person, and distribution of 20% of operating profit as bonuses. Management, by contrast, has proposed a 6.2% wage increase and a lump-sum payment of 6 million won.
Meanwhile, after holding a partial strike from the 28th to the 30th of last month, the union launched a full strike from the 1st of this month. As a result, production of some anticancer drugs and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatments has reportedly been halted, and the company expects cumulative losses of at least 640 billion won.