Samsung Electronics union, management to sign first collective agreement

Labor and management at Samsung Electronics are to sign a collective agreement Thursday, the first in the company’s history. The IT firm officially abandoned its controversial “no union” policy in 2019.

According to the two sides, representatives of management and labor agreed on a 95-clause pact dealing with compensation for occupational injuries, human resources management and the protection of union activities.

A signing event will take place Thursday, with the location yet to be determined.

This comes after nearly 30 rounds of talks held over the past nine months between the management and representatives of the company’s four unions. The four, which vary in member composition and affiliation with umbrella groups, formed a joint negotiating body in November to increase their bargaining power.

Sunday’s announcement came after members of the four unions voted to ratify a tentative deal reached late last month. The largest of the four, affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, saw 96 percent of its members support the deal.

Union members said based on the collective agreement, they plan to push for wage negotiations with the management sometime this year.

By Kang Jae-eun (kang.jaeeun@heraldcorp.com)