Members of the Samsung Electronics Labor Union hold a rally in front of the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek campus in Godeok District, Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, April 23. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
A court on Monday largely granted Samsung Electronics' request for an injunction against a general strike threatened by its unionized workers, in a blow to the planned collective action.
The Suwon District Court said staffing and operations must be maintained at normal levels during the strike to prevent potential damage to the company's safety-related and other facilities, and products, just three days before the start of the union's planned 18-day strike.
It also restricted the company's largest union from taking over the company's facilities or disrupting workers from entering them, about a month after Samsung filed the injunction against its two main unions on April 16.
"Considering the scale (the company) holds in the global semiconductor supply chain, disruptions to production from facility damage and deterioration or spoilage of raw materials or products could lead to production delays in automobile, home appliance, and information and communication industries," the court said.
It said the two unions must pay 100 million won ($66,500) each per day in the event of any violation of such restrictions.
In response, the company's largest union vowed to press ahead with the strike in accordance with the court decision.
It, however, argued that the court decision meant fewer workers would be required to maintain normal operations than the 7,000 claimed by the company.
Monday's court decision comes as Samsung Electronics and its unionized workers began negotiations earlier in the day for a last-minute breakthrough ahead of the planned strike, expected to involve about 50,000 workers.
Samsung's management and labor union have remained far apart over performance-based bonuses tied to the company's record-high earnings from the artificial intelligence (AI)-related semiconductor business.
Source: Korea Times News
