Labor and management at Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. have resumed negotiations. The Samsung Electronics labor union accepted a "post-facto mediation" procedure proposed by the South Korean government on the 8th.
On that day, Kim Do-hyung, head of the Gyeonggi Regional Employment Labor Office under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, held a tripartite meeting with representatives from Samsung Electronics management and Choi Seung-ho, head of the Samsung Electronics chapter of the Samsung Group union (SGUU). This meeting marks the formal intervention of the Ministry of Employment and Labor into the negotiations between the two parties, with the aim of encouraging a restart of dialogue. This is the first contact between the two sides in 50 days, since the Samsung union voted to launch a general strike on March 18.
During the meeting, Kim Do-hyung stated, "The government will fully support these negotiations," and recommended the union accept the post-facto mediation procedure to engage in dialogue with management. "Post-facto mediation" refers to a procedure where the Central Labor Relations Commission can restart mediation with the agreement of both labor and management parties, even after initial mediation has concluded. Previously, negotiations between Samsung Electronics labor and management from February to March failed to yield an agreement, leading to the suspension of mediation on March 3. Union head Choi Seung-ho responded, "Given the seriousness of the situation, we have decided to participate in the dialogue."
The post-facto mediation is scheduled for May 11 and 12. Choi Seung-ho stated, "If the post-facto mediation does not yield satisfactory results, we will not hesitate to proceed with a general strike."
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