Samsung Display and union sign collective agreement

The management and union of Samsung Display said Sunday that they will sign a collective agreement this week, a first for a company in the Samsung Group, which declared it would scrap its "no labor union" policy last year.

A ceremony to sign the agreement will be held at 3 p.m. on Thursday, they said.

The labor union launched in February last year as a member of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), one of the two largest local labor umbrella bodies along with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.

The 1,500-strong union has been engaging in negotiations with management to conclude the collective agreement stipulating working conditions since May.

Unionized workers at Samsung Electronics have also been in talks with management to strike a collective agreement since November.

The final version of the agreement has a provision on exempting union leaders from work, according to sources.

A union official said that although the agreement lacks some details, it is meaningful that the management accepted the existence of the labor union.

By law, collective agreements stipulating overall working conditions are the highest regulations at companies.

Yonhap