Samsung Electronics and the South Korean government both urged unions on Thursday to resume wage negotiations, but were rejected by the unions. Samsung Electronics has sent a formal document to its two major unions in what is widely seen as a last-ditch effort to avert a strike scheduled for next Thursday.
Two days of government-led mediation talks ended on Wednesday without an agreement between labor and management. Amid a cyclical rise in the semiconductor industry, labor and management remain deeply divided over performance bonuses tied to companies' artificial intelligence (AI)-related earnings.
South Korea's National Labor Relations Commission also called on Thursday for both sides to hold a new round of government-led mediation talks on Saturday.
But the union reiterated that it has no intention of further dialogue unless key demands are resolved.
Choi Seung-ho, chairman of Samsung Electronics' largest labor union, said: "If the bonus payment system is not perfect and transparency is not improved, there will be no reason to continue the dialogue."
Previously, Choi Seung-ho said about 41,000 union members have expressed interest in participating in the planned 18-day general strike, adding that the number of participants could exceed 50,000.
The union demands that employees in Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor unit have fixed performance bonuses equal to 15% of their operating profits and that bonus caps be lifted.
At the same time, company management proposed maintaining the bonus cap but providing a one-time special compensation package for semiconductor unit employees.
Driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence memory, Samsung Electronics' first-quarter operating profit hit a record of 57 trillion won (approximately US$38.2 billion).
Related articles:
Samsung Electronics’ second round of post-mortem mediation negotiations breaks down, and the union announces that it will launch a general strike as scheduled