More than 47,000 Samsung workers to go on strike as talks with company break down

Seoul, [Korea], May 20 : Samsung Electronics is bracing for a major strike beginning Thursday involving more than 47,000 workers as wage talks between the management and the union break down, a NBC report said.

The negotiations, mediated by Korea's National Labour Relations Commission, broke down after the electronics behemoth didn't accept one of the demands made by the union on bonus payments.

"The reason an agreement could not be reached .... is that accepting the labour union's excessive demands would undermine the fundamental principles of company management," a Reuters report quoted the company as saying.

The labour union spokesperson, Choi Seung-ho, said that the workers had agreed for talks that were mediated by the government but the company refused to accept a key demand on the bonus payment. He further said that they will go ahead with the 18-day strike and feel deep regret about it.

The main sticking point in talks between the management and the union is around the bonus structure that the workers want to be completely overhauled. They have asked for a formalised bonus structure seeking performance bonuses equivalent to 15% of Samsung's operating profit and the removal of bonus payout caps, the NBC report added.

The strike has caused worries even as the top echelons of the government, from President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok undertake efforts to ward off the strike that could hurt the Korean economy. Samsung exports contribute significantly to the Korean economy, and the strike could disrupt a critical supply chain globally at a time when the AI boom has taken off in a big way.

The Korean prime minister had hinted at the use of emergency measures to stop the strike. A rarely-used 'emergency adjustment' measure, if invoked, could mean that any industrial action could be suspended for a period of 30 days if it is deemed to be detrimental to the Korean economy.

Some of the reports suggested that the government mediators are keen on getting the talks restarted and have said that emergency measures may not be deployed.

The shares of the company took a beating after the news of talks breaking down came out. The stock was down more than 3%.

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