(LEAD) Unionized workers of Samsung vow collective action over stalled wage negotiations

Unionized workers of Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday they plan to stage a collective action in protest against stalled wage negotiations with the management, with a full-fledged strike potentially on the horizon. The management of the South Korean tech giant and the company's biggest union, the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), have held several rounds of talks and negotiations since January but failed to narrow their differences. The NSEU is the biggest labor union in Samsung Electronics with nearly 28,000 members, accounting for 22 percent of the company's 125,000 employees. The union said it plans to start its actions with a coordinated one-day use of collective leave by members on June 7 as a preliminary step toward a potential general strike. "It may appear to be a passive walkout, but we are taking it one step at a time," a union spokesperson said. "While it could lead to a general strike, which could fail in the end, the initiation of our first collective action is significant." I f the NSEU stages a strike, it would mark the first-ever walkout by workers at the South Korean tech giant. Samsung Electronics has not had a strike since its founding in 1969. After failing to reach a deal on wage hikes, the NSEU secured the legal authority to proceed with a strike following a mediation process by the National Labor Relations Commission and a subsequent vote among its members. Source: Yonhap News Agency