Samsung Electronics Labor Union, Management Fail to Reach Agreement on Bonuses, General Strike Looms

SEOUL/SEJONG, May 13 (Yonhap) -- The labor union and management at Samsung Electronics failed to narrow their differences over performance-based bonuses on the second and final day of government-led mediation talks that ended early Wednesday, raising concerns that the union may go ahead with a general strike later this month. The talks, seen as a last-ditch effort to avert the general strike, began at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the National Labor Relations Commission office in the administrative city of Sejong, but both sides failed to reach a consensus despite nearly 17 hours of negotiations. "Because the differences between the labor union and management did not narrow, we requested mediation and waited for nearly 12 hours but the proposal only worsened," Choi Seung-ho, head of Samsung Electronics' largest labor union, told reporters after the meeting, saying the union declared the mediation talks have fallen through. Samsung's labor union is demanding performance-based bonuses equivalent to 15 percent of operating profit, along with the removal of the payout cap and the formal institutionalization of the bonus system. The union earlier announced plans to stage a general strike starting May 21 if its demands are not met. Choi said some 41,000 unionized workers have expressed their intention to take part in the general strike, adding that the number could rise to more than 50,000. "It is meaningless to wait any longer," Choi said. "We do not plan to hold an illegal strike. We will proceed in a legitimate way." The labor dispute at Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chip maker and South Korea's most valuable company, has raised concerns that a walkout could disrupt production and upend the semiconductor supply chain as well as hurt the broader economy overall.