Unionized workers at Samsung ’s affiliates form alliance

A coalition of unionized workers at nine affiliates of Samsung Electronics formed an alliance, Thursday, in what they say will function as the first unified communication channel to have their collective demands better met.

Among the affiliates involved are electronics, display, battery manufacturing, customer services and electronic goods sales.

Market watchers say whether their collective move will be limited to bargaining for their financial interests remains to be seen.

Some express concerns that their influence can and will be swayed by political needs, as evidenced by a labor union under Samsung Group endorsing then-major contender Lee Jae-myung during the last presidential election. The endorsement was later heavily criticized by union members for misrepresenting the voices of many who balked at the idea of politicized labor power. “We have established a unified standing front to deliver joint responses to a number of pending issues,” the group said at a press conference in front of Samsung Digital Plaza in Gangnam, southern Seoul.

At the top of the negotiation agenda, they said, will be tackling Samsung’s efforts to undermine what the workers view as legitimate collective bargaining activities concerning pay raises and strengthened employee benefits.

Samsung Electronics continues to thwart union activities to this day, they said, three years after the then-Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman apologized for not allowing a union in the firm.

“Years of our union-related activities guaranteed under the Constitution are not recognized and our employer still seeks ways to undermine us.”

Some of the nine union bodies are chapters of Korea’s two umbrella unions — The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Korean Trade Union. Others operate independently of the two. But whether they belong to the same umbrella unions is not that big of a concern, the group said.

“We may come from different union bodies, but that will not stop us from aligning our interests and expressing them in a unified voice for solidarity in the future,” they said. They demanded that the management and the union establish a joint fund to help the underprivileged and create a safe and healthy work environment.

Also to be addressed are workers’ illnesses related to the musculoskeletal system. A system that includes bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and soft tissues that work together to support the body’s weight.

Many workers at the air conditioner, washing machine, refrigerator and compressor assembly lines have made complaints about neck, shoulder, waist and wrist issues.

They say their ailments were brought on by repeated heavy handling and lifting during their assembly line work and therefore should be eligible for coverage under state-run industrial disaster insurance compensation. A total of seven Samsung Electronics workers filed for the coverage in June 2021.