Samsung employees in South Korea go on 3-day strike

More than 6,500 workers at the South Korean technology giant Samsung have gone on a three-day strike starting today, demanding fairer wages.

The unionized workers' demands also include an increase of one day in annual leave.

The union stated that they would go on strike again if their demands are not met.

The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), which is leading the strike, has approximately 30,000 members, representing one-quarter of Samsung's workforce in South Korea. However, the union announced that approximately 6,540 workers, mostly from production sites and product development departments, are participating in this week's strike.

Experts state that due to the low participation and automated production, the strike is not expected to have a significant impact on the production of the world's largest chip manufacturer.

The union held its first strike last month, but Samsung stated that this strike had no impact on business operations.

The company has not yet made a statement regarding the strike that began today.

Workers participating in the strike gathered at Samsung's headquarters in the Hwaseong district of Seoul.

In response to criticisms regarding low participation, union president Son Woo-mok said that they were founded only five years ago and did not have enough time to train their members; he added, "Still, I do not think the participation is low; we are very young compared to other unions."  

News Source: 12punto