Some workers at an affiliate of Samsung have established a trade union, and attention has turned on whether workers of other Samsung affiliates will do the same. According to the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), cooks and nutritionists in Samsung Welstory, the conglomerate’s catering services provider, registered their trade union, which was approved as a company-level trade union on 6th November.
The trade union for Samsung Welstory workers has 50 members, and will begin bargaining with management about a union office and a full-time union officer. The union also plans to increase membership to 100 by the end of this year and to 1,000 in 2018. The union will work on improving working conditions, including employment security for its members, and demand more business transparency.
The union has also affiliated itself with the Federation of Korean Chemical Workers’ Unions under the FKTU, and sent an official request for collective bargaining to Samsung Welstory. Since the union is a company-level one, it can exercise its own rights for collective bargaining and collective action. Collective bargaining for a branch of an industry-level trade union is exercised by the industry-level union, but a company-level union is entrusted with the right to engage in collective bargaining according to a number of variables.
Samsung Welstory used to be an affiliate of Samsung Everland, but has been separate since the merger of Everland and Jaeil Mojik (fashion brand). The company is currently employing 3,000 workers, including cooks and nutritionists, who work at cafeterias for large companies or multicomplex buildings.