A red light is seen in front of a Samsung Biologics plant in Incheon, Monday, when the company's labor union staged a strike. The strike ended on Tuesday and the union members are set to stage "lawful protests" to push for their demands. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
The labor dispute between Samsung Biologics’ union and management is escalating as talks over wages and bonuses remain stalled, with the union continuing to demand provisions requiring its consent for the introduction of new technologies and machinery — a move that could be viewed as encroaching on management rights.
According to industry officials, Wednesday, Samsung Biologics has filed a criminal complaint with Incheon police against a union member for allegedly disrupting the company’s operations by entering a production site without authorization and monitoring manufacturing processes on Monday, when the union was staging a strike.
The union member is accused of monitoring operations without proper authority and disrupting normal manufacturing activities. Samsung Biologics views the act as a clear deviation from legitimate labor activities and a serious violation of its management and facility control rights.
The complaint marks the latest escalation in the dispute between the company’s management and labor union. Samsung Group United Union's Samsung Biologics chapter staged a strike from Friday to Tuesday, a first in the company’s history, and continued its protest on Wednesday by refusing overtime and weekend work, which it claims falls within legal boundaries.
The union is demanding a 14.3 percent wage increase, a 30 million won ($20,600) incentive payment per employee and the allocation of 20 percent of operating profit as performance bonuses. The company has offered a 6.2 percent wage increase, arguing that accepting the union’s demands would raise the total wage increase rate to 21.3 percent.
The union is also demanding the company to include several provisions, which are seen as infringing on management rights in the collective bargaining agreement.
According to industry officials, the union demanded that the company establish a joint labor-management council and obtain union approval when introducing new machinery and technologies or making improvements to work processes.
The provision is interpreted as requiring union’s consent if the company seeks to introduce new technologies or equipment such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and others that can affect the workforce. The union said it has included this out of concern that the company could pursue unmanned “dark factory,” although Samsung Biologics said it has no such plans.
Along with this, the union has also demanded notification of executive appointments and dismissals, union approval for workforce allocation and union review and approval for corporate spinoffs or outsourcing plans.
Source: Korea Times News
