According to the pharmaceutical and biotech industry on the 30th, the SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS Win-Win Labor Union has recently been strengthening its solidarity with the KCTU. While the union has not yet decided to join the KCTU, it has indicated that it may consider membership in the long term.
Previously, management and the union met on the 28th to discuss the future negotiation schedule. This meeting was arranged after the union indefinitely postponed its strike and proposed negotiations following the appellate court’s decision on the injunction prohibiting industrial action.
While SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS stated it had not received any official communication regarding the union’s potential membership in the KCTU, it raised concerns about the union’s negotiating stance, regardless of whether it joins the federation. The company reported that the union had stated at the time, “We will delegate negotiations to the KCTU and focus on the strike.”
The company also pointed out that immediately after agreeing on the negotiation schedule—and even before actual negotiations began—the union declared it would “hold all-out negotiations next week and then go on strike” and publicly announced this. The company explained that there is concern this could be perceived as the union prioritizing the public display of a hardline stance to build a justification for a future strike, rather than reaching a substantive settlement.
In response, the union refuted this, stating that its remarks were not intended to imply that it would delegate negotiations to the KCTU while focusing on strike preparations. Rather, it meant that if the company repeatedly engaged in negotiations through a proxy—one lacking substantive responsibility and authority—the union could also appoint its own representative.
Park Jae-sung, chairman of the SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS union, stated, “Our position is that if the company continues to engage in insincere negotiations through a proxy who lacks responsibility and authority, we too can appoint a proxy,” adding, “It is not our position to blindly delegate negotiations while the union prepares for a strike.” He further noted, “The union’s executive committee is scheduled to attend next week’s negotiations.”
He also explained that the union’s announcement of a strike plan in the event of a breakdown in negotiations was a purely principled stance. Chairman Park said, “The union has designated next week’s negotiations as ‘final negotiations,’ and since the only option left for the union if negotiations break down is industrial action, this is an extremely principled stance.”
Management and the union are scheduled to resume negotiations on the 3rd of next month. The union has stated that if these negotiations ultimately break down, it will proceed with a strike in stages.
A SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS official said, “Our position remains unchanged: we intend to resolve the issue through dialogue by taking sufficient time to bridge the differences between the two sides,” adding, “We also expect the union to approach the negotiations with a responsible attitude rather than making unilateral declarations.”
