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(Photo= Yonhap news) |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] The largest union at Samsung Electronics, the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union (NSEU), has decided to halt its guerrilla-style strikes and prepare for a long-term strategy instead.
On the 20th, an NSEU representative stated in a recent YouTube live broadcast, "The union leadership plans to quickly resolve the current issues and regain strike rights to prepare for a long-term strategy, rather than continuing strikes in an unstable state."
While there were internal discussions about potentially initiating strikes around the Chuseok holiday next month, NSEU is adopting a cautious stance on additional strikes due to uncertainties surrounding its "representative bargaining status."
NSEU became a "representative bargaining union" in August of last year but may lose this status if it does not reach a collective agreement within a year. According to related regulations, if a representative bargaining union fails to reach a collective agreement within a year from the decision date, any union can demand negotiations from the employer. If such a demand is made, NSEU could lose its strike rights.
NSEU explained, "If a negotiation demand is made during a strike, we must return to work immediately, otherwise it could be considered an illegal strike."
Currently, there are four unions at Samsung Electronics, including NSEU, the Gumi Network Union (2nd Union), the Donghaeng Labor Union (3rd Union), and the Samsung Group Intercompany Labor Union Samsung Electronics Branch (formerly DX Union, 5th Union). Among them, the Donghaeng Labor Union (3rd Union) has expressed differences of opinion regarding NSEU's general strike, and there are also reports of movements to establish new unions.
To address the uncertainties, NSEU has started the process of unifying negotiation channels in cooperation with the 2nd Union from today. The union will then proceed with negotiations with the company. If negotiations fail, the union will need to go through the process of securing dispute rights again.
Unless the company engages in individual negotiations with each union, NSEU, being the largest union based on membership, is expected to regain its representative bargaining status.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
