Labor negotiations between Samsung Electronics (005930) and its unions over performance bonuses have reached a final breakdown.
The Samsung Electronics Joint Bargaining Committee announced on the 4th that "the second mediation session concluded with a final decision to halt mediation at 11:55 p.m. the previous night," adding that "as of this moment, we are transitioning to a joint struggle headquarters structure and initiating procedures to secure dispute rights."
The Central Labor Relations Commission's mediation process has ended as labor and management failed to reach an agreement. The two sides had been conducting main wage and collective bargaining negotiations since December last year but could not narrow their differences. The joint bargaining committee filed for labor dispute mediation with the Central Labor Relations Commission on the 20th of this month, but the gap in positions remains.
The joint bargaining committee plans to announce the reasons for the mediation suspension and its dispute response plan, including a strike approval vote, through a live broadcast on the 5th. After conducting a vote among union members on whether to approve industrial action, strikes or partial strikes can proceed if a majority of registered members approve and a majority of all members participate. Whether negotiations resume and the intensity of any industrial action will be determined by labor-management negotiations and the vote results.
The joint bargaining committee had previously demanded transparency in performance bonus calculation standards, elimination of performance bonus caps, and a 7% wage increase in this year's wage negotiations. Management proposed giving employees options regarding excess profit sharing (OPI) funds, a special compensation program limited to the Device Solutions (DS) division, and a 6.2% wage increase.