[iNews24 Reporter Seungpil Jeong] Samsung Biologics and its union failed to reach an agreement. Both sides said they will continue talks.
Industry sources said that on the 8th the company and the union met that afternoon at the Songdo, Incheon, facility for talks hosted by the Central Regional Employment and Labor Office, but they failed to narrow their differences. It was the third failed round of negotiations.
A Samsung Biologics spokesperson said the parties did not reach an agreement but would continue talks, and that the details of consultations — including that day's meeting — will remain confidential until a tentative agreement is reached.
The union said it would continue discussions, noting that the Ministry of Employment and Labor is mediating and that Samsung Electronics has entered post-adjustment procedures. It said it had accepted the ministry's recommendation and that talks would be private for the time being.
The absence of a breakthrough in labor-management-government talks raises the prospect of a prolonged standoff. Ahead of the meeting, the union warned it could consider a second strike if the company does not change its position.
According to the union, its collective bargaining demands include a clause requiring prior consent on key management decisions — such as new hiring, performance evaluations and mergers and acquisitions — an average 14% wage increase, and a one-time incentive payment of 30,000,000 KRW (≈ $22,500) per employee.
The company, by contrast, proposed a 6.2% wage increase and a one-time payment of 6,000,000 KRW (≈ $4,500), and rejected the union's demands for involvement in personnel and management decisions.
