[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Samsung Biologics’ labor union, which has entered its first-ever strike since the company’s founding, is calling for fair and transparent personnel management standards.

In a statement on May 3, the union said the company’s claim that its demands infringe on management and HR authority “distorts the essence of the issue,” arguing that the goal is to establish clear and transparent principles in a system that has long lacked consistency.

“Under the name of management rights, the company has operated its HR system without clear principles, resulting in a breakdown of employee trust,” the union said. “What we seek is transparency in how those rights are exercised so employees can have confidence in the organization.”

The company had earlier stated on May 1 that the union’s proposals—some of which reportedly include requiring prior union consent for hiring, performance evaluations, and M&A decisions—were difficult to accept as they directly relate to management authority.

In response, the union argued it is not seeking to block management decisions but to ensure that actions affecting employees’ livelihoods are not made behind closed doors or driven by narrow departmental interests.

The union also referenced an internal document leak from November last year, alleging that the company labeled certain employees as underperformers and pushed for voluntary retirements, while granting disproportionately high evaluations to specific departments such as HR and finance.

The strike, which began on May 1, involves approximately 2,800 of the union’s 4,000 members—more than half of the company’s 5,455 employees. The action is being carried out through coordinated leave-taking rather than physical demonstrations.

Management estimates that the five-day strike could disrupt some production processes and result in losses of at least KRW 640 billion—roughly half of the company’s first-quarter revenue and exceeding its operating profit for the same period.

 

 

 

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