The union of South Korean company Samsung Electronics plans to go on a three-day strike starting Monday and warns that further actions may be taken against the nation’s most powerful conglomerate in the future.
The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), which has about 28,000 members accounting for more than one-fifth of the company's employees in South Korea, is demanding improvements to the performance-based bonus system and additional annual leave for employees.
It is not yet clear how many workers will participate in the strike, but a survey by the union indicates that as of Monday morning, approximately 8,100 members said they would join the strike.
Last week, senior union leader Lee Hyun-guk stated in a YouTube live broadcast that if the workers’ demands are not met, there may be another round of strikes after the initial three-day strike ends.
The union plans to hold a rally near Samsung headquarters in Hwaseong, southern Seoul, on Monday morning.
However, analysts say the strike is unlikely to significantly impact chip production, as most of the production at the world's largest memory chip manufacturer is automated.
Last month, the union conducted its first strike by using annual leave, but at the time the company stated that production and business activities were not affected.
Despite the limited impact on production, analysts point out that this shows a decline in employee loyalty, which poses a new issue for the world's leading chipmaker and smartphone manufacturer, especially in the fiercely competitive AI chip environment.
