Samsung is facing challenging times with declining profits due to weak demand for its memory chips.
SeongJoonCho | Bloomberg | beautiful pictures
An influential Samsung Electronics workers union on Thursday warned that its members could quit over a pay dispute in the first strike in the South Korean tech giant’s history.
The Samsung National Electronics Union announced that Samsung management had excluded the union from salary negotiations.
The NSEU, which said it represents about 10,000 employees, or about 9% of its employees, held a press conference outside one of Samsung’s buildings in Seoul and asked its Chairman Lee Jae-yong to Tech giants joined the discussion.
Lee Hyun-kuk, a representative of the union, said it would go on strike after consulting with members but said it depends on Samsung Chairman Lee’s “attitude” and the his willingness to negotiate, according to local media reports. posted on the union’s website.
“It depends on the attitude of the chairman Lee Jae-yong. We sincerely ask him to come to the negotiating table,” said Lee of the NSEU, according to Bloomberg.
Samsung did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by CNBC.
If the strike goes ahead, it will be the first since the founding of Samsung Electronics in 1969. Samsung Electronics includes consumer hardware, semiconductors, displays and service providers businesses. Samsung mobile.
Tensions with workers come at a delicate time for the world’s largest maker of memory chips and smartphones, after being profitable in the first quarter. fell to the lowest level since 2009. Samsung has been hurt by falling prices and demand for memory chips, which are the biggest drivers of profits for the company.
The union is demanding a 6% pay increase for workers. Samsung executives said last month that it would raise wages by about 4%, according to the union.
