15,800 workers unite in Samsung's first comprehensive labor union

Members of comprehensive labor union for four Samsung companies pose for a photo at an inauguration event held Monday in southern Seoul. [YONHAP]

An integrated labor union for four Samsung companies launched Monday, marking the first time such a comprehensive union has been established at the conglomerate.

An estimated 15,800 workers from Samsung Electronics' Device eXperience division, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Samsung Display and Samsung Biologics are participating.

The unionized workers held an inauguration event on Monday in southern Seoul.

“We will strive forward to realize improvements in economic and social status of all Samsung employees, upgrade physical and mental conditions of the working environments and raise respect for the employees based on labor-company coexistent principles,” the new labor union said in a statement Monday.

“We wish to break away from the unfair labor-company relationship which was unanimously controlled by the group or task force team without taking market condition, workforce structure and business profits of each company into consideration.”

Samsung Display, for example, despite posting record-high profit of 6 trillion won in 2022, stopped salary raises at 4.1 percent due to Samsung Electronics' worse-than-expected results, according to the union.

“The unified welfare benefit guideline also has elements that don't fit with state of employees, hence lack practicality,” said Yoo Ha-ram, one of the union's leaders.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics is expected to join the integrated union soon, bringing its total membership to 18,000.

Samsung's half-century-old ban on labor unions was lifted in 2020 by Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong. The company's biggest single labor union is the National Samsung Electronics Union, which has 17,000 members.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]