Samsung minority union seeks court ruling to nullify bonus deal, citing unfair benefits for non-chip division workers.
SEOUL: A labour union representing several thousand Samsung Electronics employees asked a court on Tuesday to nullify a bonus agreement between the South Korean tech giant and its largest union.
Samsung has emerged as a key player in the fast-evolving artificial intelligence industry thanks to its highly advanced memory chips.
The company has recently concluded high-stakes negotiations with its largest union over a bonus wage deal, averting a major strike that had raised concerns about the potential impact on the national economy.
Under the agreement, around 78,000 employees of the chip division — out of the company’s 125,000 domestic workforce — are eligible to receive a bonus of roughly $330,000 this year, based on estimates of annual operating profit.
But the deal has left many in non-chip divisions disgruntled, as they are expected to receive significantly lower benefits, worth around $4,000.
The minority union with around 13,000 members had initially filed an injunction seeking to halt a vote among employees to approve the deal, which concluded last week.
Following its approval, “we have amended an injunction application, requesting the suspension of the effectiveness of the tentative agreement,” a lawyer representing the minority union said in a message to AFP.
Frenzied demand for memory chips powering AI data centres has turbocharged Samsung’s earnings.
The firm said in April that first-quarter operating profit surged roughly 750% year-on-year, while its market value topped $1 trillion for the first time this month.
Under the union’s 10-year deal — tied to ambitious performance targets — annual bonuses for employees in the semiconductor division would amount to 10.5% of their segment’s operating profit.
The bonuses will be paid in shares alongside an additional 1.5% in cash.
The Samsung agreement has fuelled labour demands across South Korea, with workers in sectors ranging from biotech and autos to shipbuilding asking for a larger share of corporate profits through bonuses.
