“The government should promote voluntary bargaining, not block the right to strike”
“Restricting strike rights simply because a company is large would threaten every Metalworkers Union workplace”
The Korean Metalworkers' Union warned it will take action if the government uses its emergency mediation authority to halt a Samsung Electronics workers' strike.
In a statement on the 14th, the union said, “If the government unilaterally invokes emergency mediation — a power that can stop strikes — we will resist,” adding, “We will not tolerate attacks on the three fundamental labor rights.”
The union strongly rejected suggestions that emergency mediation is needed because a Samsung strike is possible.
“As the prospect of a Samsung strike gained attention, business interests and conservative media rushed to call for emergency mediation,” the union said, accusing them of mounting a full-scale offensive by pointing to potential losses from a strike.
“The constitution grants workers the rights to organize, to bargain collectively and to take collective action,” the statement noted, stressing that basic labor rights must be guaranteed to everyone.
The Korean Metalworkers' Union argued that the government's role is to facilitate voluntary bargaining, not to curtail the right to strike. The union warned that if authorities invoke emergency mediation against Samsung merely because it is a large company, it will be treated as a sign that strike rights across Metalworkers Union sites supporting the national economy — including autos, shipbuilding, steel and electronics — could be blocked.
The union reiterated that the government should promote voluntary bargaining rather than block workers' right to strike, and warned both the state and corporate interests not to interfere with that right.
“A strike is a choice made by workers,” the union emphasized. “If the government destroys workers' right to strike, we will mobilize in response.”
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics and its union remain far apart in negotiations over this year’s wage agreement. The union has announced a general strike for the 21st. Post-mediation at the Central Labor Relations Commission on May 11–12 collapsed in the early hours of the 13th when the union walked out of the talks. The commission has since asked both sides to resume a second round of post-mediation on the 16th.
With the prospect of a general strike increasing, some in industry have called for emergency mediation to be invoked. Labor groups, however, view such a measure as an unconstitutional restriction on the right to strike and are strongly opposed.
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