Employees at Samsung Group companies have formed a union with around 15,800 members comprising workers of four of the Group’s affiliates.
Pic Above: Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong poses with workers. (Pic courtesy of Nikkei Asia and Samsung)
The new labor union represents Samsung Electronics’ smartphone and consumer electronics division, Samsung Display, Samsung Biologics and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance.
“Our purpose is to establish independence in the relations between workers and management at individual affiliates and establish wages, welfare and working conditions suited to each company’s circumstances through flexible negotiations under equal relationships,” the integrated union’s statement read during the inauguration event on Monday.

Samsung offices
The new Samsung union said it would focus on union activities and distance itself from the hardline approach associated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a leading South Korean union, reported Nikkei Asia.
“Samsung has not been able to adapt to changing times,” current chairman Lee Jae-yong said when he announced a shift in policy in May 2020. He pledged to guarantee workers’ rights and “establish a healthy labor-management culture,” quoted Nikkei Asia.
The Korea Herald reports that, despite the integrated labor union’s establishment, sources predicted that the organisation’s impact would be limited as negotiations are conducted by each affiliate under the current law.
However, it reports, there are concerns that the union’s growing power could turn into a political campaign with collective action.