Samsung and unions

Samsung Electronics

File:Samsung Logo.svg Samsung logo
Company type	Public
Industry	Electronics
Founded	January 13, 1969 (1969-01-13) in Suwon, South Korea
Headquarters	Suwon , South Korea
Area served	Worldwide (74 countries)
Key people	Lee Jae-yong (Vice Chairman)
Products	Consumer electronics, semiconductors, telecommunications equipment
Number of employees	270,000+
Website	www.samsung.com

Samsung Electronics, a leading electronics manufacturer, operates assembly facilities and sales offices across 74 countries and employs over 270,000 individuals worldwide. Employees based in South Korea initiated a one-day strike on 7 June 2024, which was subsequently prolonged from 8 July until 1 August. This marked the inaugural employee-led strike within the Samsung Group. Meanwhile, workers in India have been striking since September 2024, demanding official union recognition.

Historically, the Samsung Group has maintained a strict anti-union stance and has engaged in union suppression efforts globally. These tactics have included establishing company-controlled unions, monitoring employees, and retaliating against those attempting to organize independent labor unions.

India

At the Sriperumbudur manufacturing facility near Chennai, approximately 1,500 production employees have been on an indefinite strike since early September 2024. This site is one of two smaller Indian plants founded in 2007, collectively employing around 1,800 workers. The strikers are members of the recently established Samsung India Labour Welfare Union, which receives backing from the left-leaning Centre of Indian Trade Unions. Their demands focus on obtaining official union recognition, preventing acknowledgment of rival unions, and securing collective bargaining rights. During a protest march that was not officially registered, 104 workers were briefly detained for their participation.

South Korea

Samsung Electronics has been unionized since 2021, while its affiliate, Samsung Electronics Service, has maintained union representation since 2014.Template:Fact

Samsung Electronics Service

Samsung Electronics Service operates as a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics and depends on internal subcontractor companies effectively controlled by Samsung. The Samsung Electronics Service Workers' union was established in July 2013. This union is connected to the Korean Metal Workers' Union, which is affiliated with the IndustriALL Global Union.

On 17 May 2014, Yeom Ho-seok, a union branch leader from Yangsan and an employee, tragically took his own life inside his vehicle; he was the second Samsung worker to do so. He left behind a message:

Following Yeom's wishes, his father transferred legal custody of his body to the union on the same day. However, the following day, the father reversed his decision, leading to police forcibly removing Yeom's body from the hospital and arresting 20 union members during the incident. The last comparable event involving police seizing a corpse occurred in 1991 amid a similar worker suicide protest.

Initially, Samsung Electronics disclaimed responsibility for its subcontractors. Yet after a series of strikes and suicides beginning in January 2014, a foundational collective agreement was reached with the union by June 2014.

Samsung Electronics

In August 2021, Samsung Electronics entered into collective agreements with four separate trade unions. This development followed the release of Samsung's vice chairman Lee Jae-yong from prison, where he had served time for corruption charges including efforts to suppress unions. One year earlier, in May 2020, Lee Jae-yong publicly apologized for Samsung’s history of anti-union practices.

As of August 2024, five trade unions are active within Samsung Electronics;

• Office Workers' Union
• Gumi Network Union
• National Samsung Electronics Union (Korean: 전국삼성전자노동조합), representing approximately 28,000 employees or roughly one-quarter of the workforce
• Donghaeng Union
• DX (Device Experience) Union

On 7 June 2024, employees at Samsung Electronics undertook a one-day strike, marking the first strike in the history of the Samsung Group. This action was organized by the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), which is the largest among the five unions.

A subsequent strike involving 6,500 workers began on 8 July 2024. Originally planned as a three-day action, it escalated into an indefinite strike due to management’s lack of engagement. The strike concluded on 1 August amid institutional pressures and declining participation; however, the union declared its intention to persist with alternative methods to advance its demands.

Until 5 August 2024, NSEU held representative bargaining rights for all five unions, when their collective agreement expired. Subsequently, other trade unions became eligible to seek representative bargaining authority for all unions. The Donghaeng Union expressed intentions to compete with NSEU for this position. In August, Son Woo-mok, NSEU chairperson, announced plans for NSEU to merge with the Office Workers' Union on 5 October to strengthen their collective influence.

Following the strike’s conclusion on 5 August, NSEU declared a shift toward "guerilla"-style strikes. These intermittent strikes resumed around Korea’s Liberation Day holiday from 15 through 18 August. Workers are demanding a wage increase of 5.6%, recognition of a holiday on the union’s anniversary, and compensation for wages lost during strikes; meanwhile management has offered a raise of 5.1%.

See also

• Protests against Samsung
• Microsoft and unions
• Tech unions
• Template:Annotated link

External

• National Samsung Electronics Union (Official site in Korean)