Samsung Electronics Union in South Korea to strike indefinitely

NSEU Samsung strike: The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) in South Korea announced on Wednesday that it would continue its strike indefinitely, intensifying its campaign for improved pay and benefits.

The union, representing approximately 30,000 members, nearly a quarter of Samsung's South Korean workforce, initially planned a three-day strike starting on Monday. However, with no response from management, the strike has been extended indefinitely. "We haven't spoken to management since we started the strike on Monday," said Lee Hyun-kuk, the union's vice president.

Lee mentioned that the strike has caused disruptions in production, specifically slowing down certain chip lines. Despite these claims, Samsung has previously stated that the strike has not impacted production and did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

Union's demands and participation

The union has revised its demands, now seeking a 3.5 per cent increase in base salary and a day off to commemorate the union's founding, instead of an additional day of annual leave. Lee noted that the management had offered a 3 per cent salary increase, which the union deemed insufficient to match inflation.

About 6,500 workers are currently participating in the strike, with efforts to encourage more members to join. Union officials disputed reports of low participation, citing a lack of time to educate members about labor issues. Training sessions were conducted on Tuesday, with another planned for Wednesday.

The union's increased activism adds to the challenges faced by Samsung, the world's largest memory chipmaker, as it contends with stiff competition in chips used for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Analysts have noted that verifying the strike's impact on production is challenging without detailed information on wafers and processes. As of 0139 GMT, Samsung's share price was down 0.1 per cent, compared to a 0.2 per cent decline in the benchmark KOSPI.

(With Reuters inputs.)