Samsung’s Non-Chip Union Takes Legal Action to Stop Bonus Vote
The Donghaeng union, representing 13,000 Samsung workers in smartphone, television, and home appliance divisions, has filed an injunction at South Korea’s Suwon District Court to halt a companywide bonus vote.
The Issue:
The union argues the ballot was rigged to lock out their members who would have voted against the proposed bonus deal. The tentative agreement offers memory chip workers an average bonus of about 600 million won per person, while staff in the Device Experience (DX) division receive significantly less.
Background:
Around 57,000 Samsung workers began voting on a tentative pay agreement on Friday. If approved, it would confirm a substantial bonus for memory chip workers and virtually nothing for DX staff. The union claims they were excluded from the ballot due to pressure from the larger Cho-Kiup union, representing memory workers.
Key Points:
- The bonus pool is contingent on sustained profitability of the memory division through the end of the decade.
- Memory workers stand to receive huge bonuses only as long as the high-bandwidth memory cycle continues.
- DX staff argue they do not benefit from this cycle and feel their interests are being overlooked.
Next Steps:
The vote is scheduled to close on May 27th. A court ruling before then could halt or annul the ballot, while a ruling after would let the result stand.