The court put the brakes on the Samsung Electronics union's general strike set for the 21st. The court found that even if the union goes on strike, the same level of staffing as usual must be maintained to keep safety and protection facilities and to prevent facility damage.
On the 18th, according to legal sources, the Suwon District Court Civil Division 31 (Presiding Judge Shin U-jeong) partially granted Samsung Electronics' request for an injunction to ban illegal industrial action filed on the 16th of last month against two unions: the Supra-Enterprise Labor Union Samsung Electronics Branch and the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union.
First, the court held that staffing to protect safety and protection facilities must be maintained at normal levels.
The court cited the fact that the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act specifies that safety and protection facilities must be normally maintained and operated during industrial action. It said, "During industrial action, it is not permitted to suspend, abolish or interfere with maintaining and operating safety and protection facilities with the same level of staffing, operating hours, operating scale and duty of care as usual (on weekdays or on weekends and holidays), nor to have affiliated union members engage in such acts."
The court also found that work to prevent deterioration or spoilage of semiconductor production equipment and raw materials such as wafers must be carried out normally.
The court said, "It is not permitted to interfere with performing, with the same level of staffing, operating hours, operating scale and duty of care as before industrial action, the work to prevent facility damage and the work to prevent wafer deterioration that the claimant asserts are security tasks, nor to have affiliated union members engage in such acts."
The court also prohibited the supra-enterprise union and Chairperson Choi Seung-ho from occupying all or part of the facilities, installing locking devices at the facilities, or obstructing workers' access.
It added that if the union violates this, each union must pay Samsung Electronics 1 billion won per day for each day of violation, and each union branch head and acting leader must pay 10 million won each.
With the court effectively accepting a significant portion of management's requests, the union's general strike plan has also been put on hold. The union has announced that about 50,000 people will take part in a general strike from the 21st to July 7.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics labor and management are holding their last round of talks before the general strike over the performance bonus dispute at the Central Labor Relations Commission at the Government Sejong Complex from 10 a.m. that day, mediated by the government.