Kyung-Hyun Kye, Samsung Electronics President and CEO. / Provided by Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics DS Division CEO Kye Kyung-hyun met with the labor union on the 18th and said, “Lets solve it through dialogue.”
According to Samsung Electronics labor and management, President Kyung held a meeting with the heads of four labor unions at Samsung Electronics at 1 pm on the same day at the Hwaseong Campus in Gyeonggi Province.
This meeting was held on the 16th of last month as the union requested a direct interview with the CEO, demanding responsible action from the management in relation to the breakdown of the wage negotiations in 2021. Along with President Kyung, Choi Wan-woo, head of HR team at DS department, Kyu-ho Lee, head of HR support group at DX department, and In-cheol Shin, head of HR support group at DS, attended.
When asked about the possibility of Samsung Electronics first strike outside the company, President Kyung said, “Lets talk frankly about difficulties and solve them together through dialogue and communication.” He continued, “I want to hear what you think a good workplace is,” and also listened to the opinions of union leaders.
The union demanded the improvement of the pay system and the right to rest, which had been publicly mentioned so far. The goal is to eliminate opaque performance-based pay standards such as excess profit performance-based pay and target achievement incentives, and to provide 25% of operating profit as a financial resource for performance-based pay and pay them according to precise standards. It also requested that five days of paid holidays be allowed to rest on the day of the founding of the company and the day of the founding of the union in order to guarantee summer vacation.
In response to the unions request, President Kyung and the management announced that they would discuss specific negotiations again at a later working-level meeting. The meeting lasted about an hour, and various conversations took place in a good atmosphere, the company explained. This is the first time that the CEO of Samsung Electronics has met and talked directly with the labor union.
