- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of other sex crimes
- Italy seek Nations League consistency as Germany continue rebuild
- From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi football
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- England 96-1 after Salman's century lifts Pakistan to 556
- Hollywood star Idris Elba champions African cinema in Ghana
- Djokovic rolls Cobolli to make Shanghai Masters last 16
- Milan's Hernandez receives two-game suspension after referee rant
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Ex-Barcelona and Spain great Iniesta retires aged 40
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Ex-skipper Skelton eyes Wallabies November return
- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- Agha defies England as Pakistan post 515-8 in first Test
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Bangladesh's Yunus says no elections before reforms
- England strike twice as Pakistan reach 397-6 at lunch in first Test
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Kenya's deputy president faces impeachment vote
- N. Korean soldiers 'highly likely' killed in Ukraine: Seoul
- 'Appeals Centre' to referee EU social media disputes
- US Supreme Court to hear 'ghost guns' regulation case
- 'Small' oil leaks detected in Samoa after NZ navy shipwreck
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- At Istanbul church, blessed spring offers hope to Christians and Muslims
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- Myanmar to send rep to regional summit for first time in three years
- Prabowo set to lead bolder Indonesia on world stage
- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
RBGPF | -0.46% | 60.52 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.04% | 24.58 | $ | |
BCC | 0.46% | 141.92 | $ | |
SCS | -0.08% | 12.94 | $ | |
NGG | 0.2% | 65.61 | $ | |
AZN | -0.28% | 76.655 | $ | |
RIO | -4.76% | 66.455 | $ | |
GSK | -1.13% | 38.2 | $ | |
BCE | -0.6% | 33.33 | $ | |
JRI | 0.16% | 13.201 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.1% | 24.815 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
RELX | 0.8% | 46.41 | $ | |
VOD | -0.36% | 9.655 | $ | |
BTI | -0.11% | 35.16 | $ | |
BP | -3.54% | 32.008 | $ |
Samsung workers begin three-day general strike over pay
Workers at South Korean tech giant Samsung began a three-day general strike over pay and benefits on Monday, the head of a union representing tens of thousands of employees told AFP, warning the action could impact memory chip production.
Samsung Electronics is the world's largest memory chip maker and accounts for a significant chunk of global output of the high-end chips.
Wearing rain jackets and ribbons saying "fight with solidarity", thousands of workers gathered outside the company's foundry and semiconductor factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, an hour south of Seoul.
Samsung management has been locked in negotiations with the union since January, with the two sides failing to narrow differences on benefits and a rejected 5.1 percent pay raise offer from the firm.
"The strike has started from today," Son Woo-mok, head of the National Samsung Electronics Union, told AFP.
"Today's general strike is just the beginning," he added.
"Recalling why we are here, please do not come to work until July 10th and do not receive any business calls," he told the crowd of workers.
The union said about 5,200 people from factory facility, manufacturing and development had joined the protest.
"Do they still not think this will affect their production line?" said Lee Hyun-kuk, vice president of the union.
The union, which has more than 30,000 members, or more than a fifth of the company's total workforce, announced the three-day general strike last week, saying it was a last resort after talks broke down.
The move follows a one-day walkout in June, the first such collective action at the company, which went decades without unionisation.
"We are now at critical crossroads," the union said in an appeal sent out to members last week, urging them to support the strike.
"This strike is the last card we can use," it said, saying that workers at the company needed to "act as one".
"I'm really excited," one union member and protester told AFP. "We're making history."
Workers rejected the offer of a 5.1 percent pay hike in March, with the union having previously outlined demands including improvements to annual leave and transparent performance-based bonuses.
Samsung declined a request for comment.
"While the ongoing strike is only scheduled for three days, the participating members include those working in chip assembly lines," business professor Kim Dae-jong at Sejong University told AFP.
"Given that the union could carry out additional strikes in case the gridlock continues, it could pose a great risk to Samsung management amid its race for dominance in the competitive chips market."
- Avoided unions -
Samsung Electronics avoided its employees unionising for almost 50 years -- sometimes adopting ferocious tactics, according to critics -- while rising to become the world's largest smartphone and semiconductor manufacturer.
Company founder Lee Byung-chul, who died in 1987, was adamantly opposed to unions, saying he would never allow them "until I have dirt over my eyes".
The first labour union at Samsung Electronics was formed in the late 2010s.
The firm is the flagship subsidiary of South Korean giant Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
It recently predicted a 15-fold increase in its on-year second quarter operating profits, thanks to growing demand for generative AI.
Semiconductors are the lifeblood of the global economy, used in everything from kitchen appliances and mobile phones to cars and weapons.
And demand for the advanced chips that power artificial intelligence systems has skyrocketed thanks to the success of ChatGPT and other generative AI products.
Semiconductors are South Korea's leading export and hit $11.7 billion in March, their highest level in almost two years, accounting for a fifth of South Korea's total exports, according to figures released by the trade ministry.
P.Stevenson--AMWN