SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s Samsung Electronics (KS:) union is set to stage its first strike at the tech giant on Friday, but some analysts did not expect labor claims over wages and conditions to have a major impact on its chip production. production.
Samsung’s National Electronics Union (NSEU), which has about 28,000 members, or more than a fifth of the company’s workforce, said it would stop work for one day as part of wider protest measures.
Research firm TrendForce said it does not see the strike affecting production of DRAM and NAND Flash memory chips or leading to supply shortages.
Trendforce noted that more workers at Samsung’s headquarters in the capital Seoul took part in the strike than those directly involved in production.
In addition, the strike is only planned for one day and will take place the day after a bank holiday, meaning some employees have already applied for leave. Production is also largely automated, meaning the strike is unlikely to have a significant impact, it said.
In recent weeks, workers have participated in periodic protests outside the company’s offices in Seoul, as well as near its chip manufacturing site in Hwaseong, south of Seoul.
Responding to the company’s decision to increase wages by 5.1% this year, the union said it wanted an extra day of annual leave as well as transparent bonuses based on performance.
Samsung Electronics previously said it would “sincerely participate in negotiations with the union.”
The union said its action on June 7 would affect all company facilities throughout South Korea. NSOU is the largest of the company’s five unions.
Last week, a coalition of five Samsung affiliate unions, including another smaller Samsung Electronics union, questioned the intent of the strike, saying they would not join the action.
Union membership has grown rapidly since Samsung Electronics pledged in 2020 to end its practice of impeding the growth of organized labor.