The Samsung Biologics labor union will withdraw from the Samsung Group cross-corporations union and shift to an independent course. As wage and collective bargaining talks that began late last year have dragged on, it appears the union judged that a company-by-company union system offers more practical benefits than a joint response with Samsung affiliates.
The Samsung Group cross-corporations union's Samsung Biologics Win-Win Branch said on the 28th that a motion to change the organizational format put to union members passed. From the 24th to the 28th, the union held a vote asking members whether to withdraw from the cross-corporations union, change the organizational format, and amend the bylaws.
Of the 4,005 members eligible to vote on the organizational change motion, 2,479 participated, and 2,392 of them (96.5%) voted in favor. The passage requirement was a majority turnout of members and approval by at least two-thirds of those voting.
A union official said, "Once the administrative procedures are completed, the withdrawal from the cross-corporations union will be finalized within a few days," and noted, "This is the second case of an individual corporations union leaving the Samsung Group cross-corporations union." Earlier, the first union at Samsung Electro-Mechanics withdrew from the cross-corporations union.
Launched in Feb. 2024, the Samsung Group cross-corporations union has included unions from Samsung Biologics, Samsung Electronics, and Samsung Display, as well as Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. The membership is known to be about 73,000.
Following the recent labor-management agreement at Samsung Electronics, member defections continued amid dissatisfaction over differentiated performance bonuses, and with even the founding member Samsung Biologics union withdrawing, the cross-corporations union is expected to inevitably suffer some operational blow.
Samsung Biologics union's independent move appears to have been driven by the perception that the cross-corporations union's activities failed to open a clear breakthrough in its own wage and collective bargaining talks. Because each Samsung affiliate has different wage systems and labor issues, the union judged that shifting to a company-by-company union system and negotiating directly with management would reflect members' demands more quickly than a joint response.
In fact, the union has been in wage and collective bargaining talks with management since December last year but failed to find common ground. Talks resumed on the 16th, about three weeks after the 28th of last month, and intensive negotiations were held on the 23rd and 24th, but they yielded little progress.
In this organizational change vote, the union said, "We judge that it is necessary to shift to an independent company-by-company union system to reflect members' understanding and demands more directly and quickly."
However, the prolonged labor dispute is also weighing on the union internally. Nearly two months after a partial strike in late April, the conflict has continued, increasing member fatigue. About 200 people attended the general meeting and briefing sessions held on the 16th to 18th of this month, reportedly down to about one-third of the more than 700 who attended the general meeting before the April strike.
Among members, concerns have also emerged about wage losses from a prolonged struggle. Some members who took part in a compliance campaign by refusing overtime and holiday work are expected to see pay cuts of up to around 1.5 million won. There are concerns that if the compliance campaign is prolonged, it could also negatively impact the company's earnings and performance bonuses.
Starting with a partial strike of about 60 people in late April, the Samsung Biologics union launched a full strike involving more than 2,800 participants from the 1st to the 5th of last month. Since then, it has continued a compliance campaign by refusing overtime and holiday work.
The union is demanding about a 14% increase in base pay, a 30 million won incentive per person, securing 20% of operating profit as a performance bonus pool and abolishing the performance bonus cap, and allocating treasury shares to employees. Management has proposed a 6.2% wage increase.
Following last week, Samsung Biologics labor and management are also set to resume talks on the 1st to 2nd of next month. A union official said, "It has not been long since talks resumed," and added, "We are currently in a phase of feeling out management."