SAMSUNG DISPLAY UNION LAUNCHES STRIKE

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Samsung Display's labor union has launched its first strike since the company's founding. It's threatening to gradually expand the walkout, while management has pledged to try to resolve the conflict through dialogue.

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The labor union of Samsung Display has launched its first strike in the company's history. It's also the first strike among Samsung's affiliates since Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong promised to scrap the conglomerate's "no labor union" policy. The union first set up a walkout committee at its factory in Asan before six of its representatives staged a strike. The union plans to expand the scope of the walkout according to how management negotiates. It reportedly decided to stage the strike preemptively because it's the first such event in the union's history and also because less than 20 percent of the company's workforce is unionized. Management says it will keep negotiating with the unionized workers. It's maintaining its previous stance to raise workers' wages by no more than 4.5 percent. The union is demanding a 6.8-percent increase and has threatened an indefinite strike if the company refuses to change its stance.

[Soundbite] Jeon Sang-min(Samsung Display labor union) : "We're thinking of an indefinite strike. It's all up to management."

The door to reaching a compromise remains open. The union is willing to negotiate if management, which is also willing to talk, proposes a revised plan.