Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and its labor union are set to resume post-mediation talks on Friday, a renegotiation procedure for their wage and collective bargaining agreement.
Yeo Myung-gu, vice president of the People Team at Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) division, and Choi Seung-ho, chairman of the Samsung Electronics chapter of the Samsung Group Supra-Enterprise Union, entered the meeting room at the National Labor Relations Commission in the Sejong Government Complex at 10 a.m., ahead of the second round of post-mediation talks.
Speaking to reporters on his way into the room, Vice President Yeo said, "I will do my best (in the negotiations)." Chairman Choi entered the venue without responding to questions about recent controversies, including those over equity with the finished goods (DX) division.
Friday's second round of post-mediation follows talks held the previous day. Samsung Electronics and the union had earlier conducted a first round of post-mediation under the labor commission's arbitration but failed to reach an agreement. With the union's planned general strike on the 21st looming, the government stepped in once again to mediate, leading to the second round of post-mediation that began the previous day. However, no notable progress was made on that day either.
The second round of post-mediation is considered effectively the final showdown before the general strike on the 21st. The union is demanding that 15% of operating profit be paid as performance bonuses and that this be institutionalized. Management's position is that lifting the ceiling and institutionalizing the system would be difficult. Instead, the company has proposed distributing an additional 9-10% of operating profit on top of the existing Overall Performance Incentive (OPI) when the semiconductor division's operating profit exceeds 200 trillion won.
