Samsung seeks court order against union strike amid wage dispute

Samsung Electronics asked a court on Thursday to block South Korean labour unions from engaging in what it described as illegal activities during a strike, a company spokesperson said, as an ongoing wage dispute threatens to disrupt operations at the world’s largest memory chipmaker.

According to the statement, unionised workers at Samsung last month voted to authorise strike action plans and have threatened to carry out an 18-day walkout beginning May 21 if they fail to reach a wage agreement with management, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

In addition, the unions are planning to hold a large-scale rally on April 23, increasing pressure on Samsung amid continuing wage negotiations.

The unions described Samsung’s legal move as a “declaration of war,” and accused the company of violating their legally protected right to strike.

Samsung, however, stated that it does not intend to obstruct the union’s lawful right to industrial action. The company said its objective is to prevent unlawful activities such as the occupation of production lines.

Workers at Samsung, who have expressed frustration over a pay gap compared with Seoul-based rival SK Hynix, are demanding that the company remove its performance-based pay cap and instead link bonuses directly to operating profit.

The company reported that it estimated an operating profit of 57.2 trillion won (approximately $38.85 billion) for the January to March period, representing more than an eightfold increase compared with 6.69 trillion won recorded a year earlier.

A union leader told Reuters that a potential strike could impact around half of the output at Samsung’s massive semiconductor complex in Pyeongtaek, located south of Seoul.

A strike at the world’s largest manufacturer of memory chips could further worsen bottlenecks in global semiconductor supply chains, which are already strained by strong demand for artificial intelligence data centre operations. This demand has also constrained supply across multiple industries, including automobiles, computers, and smartphones.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev