Seoul [South Korea], May 22 (ANI): Samsung Electronics' tentative 2026 wage agreement faced backlash over a chip-heavy bonus plan, drawing sharp criticism from employees in the consumer electronics and mobile division. According to a news report by The Korea Herald, union leaders accused management of shaping the deal around the company's booming memory chip business while leaving finished-product workers behind.
As per the report, the Suwon branch of the National Samsung Electronics Union and Samsung Electronics Donghaeng Labor Union held a press conference on Friday outside Samsung Digital City in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, pledging to campaign against the deal. These unions largely represented members from the Device eXperience division, which oversees Samsung's finished-product businesses, including smartphones, TVs and home appliances.
"The wage talks have effectively been reduced to a bonus deal for the memory business," the report quoted the unions saying.
At the center of the dispute is Samsung's performance-based pay system. The unions argued that the agreement is tilted toward the Device Solutions semiconductor division, while DX employees are being sidelined despite their contributions during years when the chip business faced pressure.
"DX helped keep the company steady with stable operating profit when semiconductors were struggling," the report quoted Lee Ho-seop, head of the NESU's Suwon branch. "Now that performance has recovered, it is hard to accept a system where only one side reaps the gains."
"This is not simply about asking for more money," Lee added. "DX employees want their contribution and sacrifice to be recognized. Samsung Electronics is one company, but its bonus system is driving a wedge between divisions."
As per the report, the unions stated that the tentative agreement fell short of their key demands, including greater transparency in how bonuses are calculated and the removal of bonus caps. They criticized a stopgap approach through special bonuses, noting that the company has yet to clearly explain how operating profit is calculated or how rewards are allocated.
Furthermore, the deal included an agreement for labor and management to drop civil and criminal lawsuits filed against each other, which raised suspicion among some employees.
"Employees are asking whether the company used lawsuits as leverage during the talks," Lee said. "Management needs to explain clearly why the lawsuits are being withdrawn."
The backlash coincided with a sharp rise in union membership. The report mentioned that Koo Jung-hwan, secretary-general of Donghaeng, stated that the union gained 10,000 members in a single day. He accused the leadership of the joint union of trying to exclude Donghaeng members from the ongoing vote on the tentative agreement.
"Excluding Donghaeng members, who took part in the negotiations as part of the joint bargaining group, is unlawful and an abuse of discretion," the report quoted Koo. "If they push ahead with the exclusion, we will take every legal step available, including filing for corrective action with the Labor Relations Commission."
Lee also noted that voting rights should be guaranteed for all union members, regardless of whether their union formally belongs to the joint bargaining group.
"There is already a precedent in which the DX union took part in a vote on a tentative agreement, even though it was not part of the joint bargaining group," Lee said. "It does not make sense to deny voting rights now on that basis."
The unions also took aim at Roh Tae-moon, president and head of the DX division, saying he had failed to communicate with employees during months of wage negotiations.
"DX employees have gone through months of disappointment and frustration, but President Roh Tae-moon has not meaningfully engaged with them," Lee said, targeting the president and head of the DX division. "He should meet employees as soon as he returns to Korea and discuss how to restore morale."
Union officials said the anger among DX workers is not simply about the size of the payout.
"People outside the company assume all Samsung Electronics employees are receiving hundreds of millions of won in bonuses," the report quoted a union official. "Employees are now left explaining to family and friends that the headlines do not reflect their own paychecks." (ANI)
(This article was generated from news agency ANI without modifications to the text.)
