Workers walk at Samsung Biologics' plant in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, on the morning of May 4, the fourth day of the union's full-scale strike. [Photo=Yonhap]
Samsung Biologics and its union resumed talks as the full-scale strike entered its fourth day, but failed to narrow differences. The two sides plan additional meetings on May 6 and May 8 to continue negotiations.
The Samsung Biologics Sangsaeng branch of the Samsung Group Inter-Company Labor Union said the sides again found no common ground in a meeting mediated by the Jungbu Regional Office of Employment and Labor on May 4.
A first session ran for about two hours from 10:15 a.m. and ended without progress. Talks continued from 1:30 p.m. to 4:10 p.m., with labor and management meeting separately with the Labor Ministry. The union said, "There was no meaningful agenda or direction presented, and only the next meeting was set." The sides will hold a one-on-one meeting between chief negotiators on May 6, and a tripartite meeting involving the Labor Ministry on May 8, the union said.
Union branch chief Park Jae-seong attended the May 4 meeting. He did not attend a labor-management-government meeting on April 30 due to an overseas schedule. The company was represented by working-level officials at the executive director level and department heads, according to the union.
The dispute centers on wages, bonuses and personnel systems. The union is seeking an average 14% wage increase, a 30 million won incentive per employee, 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.
Negotiations have also been complicated by provisions requiring the union's prior consent on major management issues such as new hiring, performance evaluations and mergers and acquisitions. Ahead of the meeting, the union said the situation cannot be resolved unless the company presents a substantive revised proposal and a responsible official with decision-making authority.
The sides held 13 rounds of talks from December last year through March but failed to reach an agreement. Strikes in some processes from April 28 to 30 reportedly disrupted production of anticancer drugs and HIV treatments. The company estimates losses of about 150 billion won during that period.
The current strike has been carried out through use of weekday leave and refusal to work on holidays, with about 2,800 of the union's 4,000 members participating. The union plans to continue the full-scale strike through May 5, then shift on May 6 to a work-to-rule campaign by refusing overtime and holiday work.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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