Samsung Union Must Halt Talks Over Procedural Violations, 1,000 Members Say

Labor Ministry petition alleges unlawful union bargaining

About 1,000 members sign in support

Nova says bargaining demands should be redrafted

About 1,000 members of Samsung Electronics' branch of the Samsung Group super-enterprise union have backed a petition filed with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, according to a statement.

Law firm Nova said on May 19 that union members had submitted the petition to the ministry, urging it to issue a corrective order over alleged procedural violations by the super-enterprise union. About 1,000 members have voluntarily joined a signature campaign in support, it added.

Nova represents members in the Device eXperience, or DX, division who filed for a court injunction seeking to halt the union's bargaining.

Some members of the super-enterprise union claim the union committed unlawful acts during the ongoing bargaining process and strike. They asked the labor ministry to issue corrective orders and administrative guidance.

The petitioners objected to remarks by union chairman Choi Seung-ho suggesting that workers who do not cooperate with the strike could be made priority targets if reassignments or dismissals are carried out. They also said the union told members that demands over the distribution ratio for division-specific performance bonuses could not be changed because they had been fixed through a survey, even though that question was not included in the survey.

The union's operating procedures also came under scrutiny. The petitioners said a general meeting that approved the strike and revisions to union rules was announced only three days in advance, rather than the required seven. They also argued that creating a rule allowing the operating committee to decide union dues, and then raising dues fivefold during the labor dispute, ran counter to the intent of South Korea's labor union law.

"What is needed now is to temporarily halt the process," Nova said. "The union should ask all members again and newly determine legitimate bargaining demands in accordance with the law and its rules."

Kim Dae-young, Hankyung.com reporter kdy@hankyung.com