- Samsung’s National Electronics Union (NSEU), representing a fifth of its workforce, plans a three-day strike starting Monday.
- The strike raises concerns about decreased staff loyalty and ethical issues regarding automation’s role in the workplace.
OUR TAKE
With the surging semiconductor prices driven by the AI boom, chipmakers around the world are seizing the opportunities for revenue. Samsung, as one of the chipmaker giants, should balance its business interests with the need of its fellowship to maintain its sustainable development.
—Ashley Wang, BTW reporter
What happened
Samsung is at risk of its member strike from Monday lasting three days. The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), has been planning the strike since the last month. The union consists of about 28,000 members accounting for a fifth of the firm’s workforce in South Korea. The union’s major appeals include improving the corporation’s performance-based bonus system and giving workers an extra day of annual leave.
It is not the first time that the union has initiated a protest. Last month, it staged a walk at the expense of their annual leave. It is not clear how many employees will take part in Monday’s strike. But a senior union leader demonstrated last week that after the three-day stoppage is over, another round of strikes could occur if the worker’s demands are not heard.
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Why it’s important
Some analysts said the strike will not have a major impact on chip output since the production has been automated. At the same time, Samsung estimated a more than 15-fold rise will be seen in its second-quarter operating profits since the surging semiconductor prices because of the AI boom.
Despite the automated production that makes the employees less visible, as the world-famous chipmaker, Samsung’s products are not the only ones in the spotlight, so are its management and corporate organisation as the assessment criteria for its investment. Its staff’s movement indicates a decreased staff loyalty which is crucial for corporate development. The strike is not only closely related to Samsung but also raises ethical issues about whether automation can coexist with human beings.
