Samsung Electronics’ union in S Korea calls first ever walkout next week

A Samsung Electronics union in South Korea will begin escalating strike action next week by staging the first ever walkout over demands for higher wages, union officials said on Wednesday.

The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), which has about 28,000 members, or more than a fifth of the company’s total workforce, said it will stop work for one day on June 7 as part of broader protest measures.

The announcement was made by union officials at a live-streamed press conference, where they held a banner which read: “We can no longer tolerate labour repression, union repression.”