Samsung Biologics’ first full-scale strike since the company was founded in 2011 entered its third day on May 3, raising concerns about production disruptions and damage to client confidence. The union, which is seeking what it calls a record package including a profit-based bonus, has also demanded prior consent on major management decisions such as hiring, personnel evaluations and mergers and acquisitions, drawing criticism that it is taking an unreasonable stance rather than pursuing compromise through talks.
◆5-day strike starting May 1; company estimates 640 billion won in losses
According to the Samsung Biologics branch of Samsung Group’s cross-affiliate union, the union began an all-out strike on May 1, Labor Day, and plans to continue through May 5. The action is being carried out without separate rallies, using methods such as taking annual leave and refusing holiday work. The union said about 2,800 of its roughly 4,000 members are participating.
The company estimates that if the strike lasts the planned five days, losses could total about 640 billion won. That is about half of Samsung Biologics’ first-quarter revenue of 1.2571 trillion won and exceeds its operating profit of 580.8 billion won for the same period.
Labor and management are set to return to the bargaining table on May 4 under mediation by the Jungbu Regional Office of Employment and Labor, but the gap remains wide. The union is seeking an average 14% wage increase, a 30 million won per-person incentive payment and distribution of 20% of operating profit as performance pay. The company has proposed a 6.2% wage increase and a one-time payment of 6 million won.
The union is also reported to have included in its collective bargaining demands a clause requiring prior union consent for new hiring, personnel matters and M&A. The company has said it cannot accept demands it views as directly tied to management rights.
Human resources experts criticized the union’s proposal, saying hiring and adopting new technology are essential to corporate survival and that restricting them in the name of job security could weaken competitiveness. They said authority and responsibility for management rest with executives.
◆Talks stalled since December; leadership’s negotiating posture questioned
Negotiations between Samsung Biologics and the union were held 13 times from December through March without reaching an agreement. With a full strike scheduled for May 1, the union carried out surprise walkouts in some processes from April 28 to 30. The company said an aliquoting process stopped, disrupting supplies of raw and subsidiary materials, and delaying production of key medicines including cancer drugs and treatments for human immunodeficiency virus, resulting in an estimated 150 billion won in losses during that period.
A labor-management-government meeting hosted by the Jungbu labor office on April 30 also failed to narrow differences. The union chair was reported to have been absent due to overseas travel plans, prompting criticism from some quarters that the absence was irresponsible amid concerns over production disruptions and client trust. Other union officials were reported to have demanded, as a precondition, that the company replace all of its bargaining representatives, further fueling controversy over the union’s approach.
In a statement issued the afternoon of May 1, the company said negotiations had been difficult because the union’s demands were not realistically acceptable, adding that issues directly tied to personnel authority and management rights were especially hard to bridge.
Industry officials said a prolonged strike could hurt not only near-term output but also future global contract competition. Samsung Biologics posted 4.5570 trillion won in annual revenue and 2.0692 trillion won in operating profit last year, achieving more than 30% growth from the previous year. But in the contract manufacturing business, where stable production capacity is central to competitiveness, extended labor unrest could disrupt contract performance and new orders from global clients, they said.
A Samsung Biologics official criticized the union’s demands and strike tactics, saying the union should stop what the company called unreasonable demands and coercive pressure to join the strike and return to talks with a sense of responsibility.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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