In Jo Min Park
SEOUL (Reuters) – Against a backdrop of K-pop and dance music performances, more than 2,000 unionized workers from Samsung Electronics gathered in Seoul on Friday, holding a rare march to demand the South Korean tech giant pay fair wages.
Over the past two years, the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) has seen its membership swell fourfold to about 28,000, or more than a fifth of the company's total workforce, union officials said.
The rapid growth in union membership comes after the country's most powerful bloc pledged in 2020 to end its practice of discouraging the growth of organized labor.
Jay Y. Lee, head of Samsung Electronics, had publicly apologized at the time for the scandal over union-busting tactics and declared the end of the “no union” philosophy.
Government data show that employee union membership levels have not risen in South Korea over the past two decades, and remain relatively low compared with some other OECD countries. But union officials said more young workers were becoming convinced of the benefits of joining a union.
Unionized engineers and office workers, chanting “respect workers,” also enjoyed electronic dance music played by a popular comedian-turned-DJ dressed as a Buddhist monk.
K-pop singers also performed, prompting union workers in their 20s and 30s to clap and dance, and the gathering near Samsung's office in Seoul's quaint Gangnam district at times resembled a street party.
“Our marches are peaceful, but we can still show our strength,” said Choi Young-wook, a 27-year-old chip engineer at Samsung, who was wearing a black hat bearing the union’s logo.
Cards and bonuses
This rise comes at a time when Samsung's success appears to be faltering in some areas, including advanced semiconductor chips.
Samsung this week replaced the head of its semiconductor unit, saying a new person was needed at the top to get through what it called a “crisis” affecting the chip industry.
The union said that the company decided to increase wages this year by 5.1%, and while the union does not necessarily oppose such an increase, it wants an additional day of annual leave in addition to transparent bonuses based on performance.
Negotiations between the company and the union resumed on May 21, according to the union, despite some officials questioning the company’s commitment to consulting with them.
Samsung Electronics said in a statement to Reuters that working-level negotiations have resumed, and the main negotiations are scheduled to take place on May 28.
“We will wholeheartedly participate in discussions with the union,” the statement read.
Union officials say there was a growing perception among younger employees that unions could help create a fairer workplace, while the company's older generation felt unions could disrupt labor productivity.
Overall, South Korea's union membership rate has hovered around the 10% level since 2004, according to Labor Ministry data.
“More and more people within the company are realizing why they need unions, which is to have a voice, and we are getting empowered by these people day after day,” said NSEU president Son Woo Mook, who started working at Samsung. In 2005.