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[iNews24 reporters Hwang Se-woong and Park Ji-eun] Samsung Electronics and its labor union spent more than 10 hours negotiating on the first day of the Central Labor Relations Commission’s post-adjustment mediation process. After hearing both sides, the Commission has begun drafting a compromise proposal.
Samsung Electronics and the union began the post-adjustment proceedings at 10 a.m. on the 11th in the Commission’s No. 1 mediation room at the Government Complex Sejong.
The parties briefly left for lunch around 1:15 p.m. and resumed talks at 3 p.m. Mediation continued well into the evening, stretching past 7 p.m.
Representatives from the union and the Commission each stepped out of the room once during the lengthy session, but both declined to speak to reporters about the talks’ progress.
On the union side, attendees included Choi Seung-ho, Kim Jae-won, director of policy planning, and Vice Chair Lee Song-yi. Two executives responsible for HR and labor attended for the company. The Commission assigned a full-time conciliator and a quasi–full-time conciliator to oversee the mediation.
\”We heard both sides’ positions in the morning and the afternoon,\” an official who attended the first day said. \”We identified several areas that need adjustment to reach an agreement and conveyed those to both parties. Right now, we are preparing to present a mediation proposal tomorrow.\”
The Commission said it is still difficult to predict the outcome.
\”If this were easy, we wouldn’t be here,\” the official said. \”Both sides understand how concerned the public is and want some form of resolution, but reconciling their interests is not simple.\”
\”Neither side is refusing to negotiate,\” the official added. \”Once a basic outline emerges, we will present a mediation proposal tomorrow.\”
\”If both sides accept the proposal, the process will conclude; if not, further procedures will follow,\” the official said. \”The Commission does not work to a fixed timetable for mediation, so it is difficult to say when it will end.\”
Samsung and the union remain divided over the company’s performance bonus system.
In March bargaining, the company proposed using 10% of operating profit as the bonus pool and pledged to provide higher rewards than competitors if it reaches the industry’s top position.
The union, by contrast, is demanding that 15% of operating profit be allocated to the bonus pool, that the payment cap be removed, and that these terms be codified into a new bonus scheme.
The parties also disagree over a proposed company-wide common fund, which has sparked internal debate within the union.
The SECU (Donghaeng union) and the National Samsung Electronics Union (Jeonsamno) are calling for at least 1% of operating profit to be set aside as a company-wide common fund to narrow performance-pay gaps between divisions.
But the cross-company union opposes including a common fund in this mediation, arguing it could give the company grounds to claim the union bargained in bad faith.
Samsung and the union will continue the Commission’s post-adjustment mediation through the 12th.
The union has warned it will launch an 18-day general strike from the 21st through the 7th of next month if negotiations fail.
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