The labor-management conflict at Samsung Biologics is intensifying by the day. The Samsung Biologics Coexistence Labor Union (union), after demanding collective bargaining with Samsung Electronics, raised objections to the rights offering (paid-in capital increase) currently in progress. The company side stated its position that it will respond firmly to defamation or illegal acts by the union.
The Samsung Biologics union announced on the 7th that it sent a letter on the 6th requesting a review of the schedule for the rights offering (paid-in capital increase) to the Korea Exchange and the Financial Supervisory Service.
In the letter, the union stated, “Considering the recent course of labor disputes at Samsung Biologics and the revised funding plan, we request confirmation of business risk assessment and funding plans, as well as a review of the housing subscription schedule,” and argued that “employees and general shareholders ahead of the rights offering (paid-in capital increase) housing subscription must be able to exercise their rights after sufficiently verifying the information necessary for investment decisions.”
Park Jae-sung, Noh Jo-wi (Director) of Samsung Biologics, said, “As a member of the Samsung Biologics Noh Dong-jo-hap (Chairman) and as the head of the rights offering (paid-in capital increase) union, I requested the Korea Exchange and the Financial Supervisory Service to suspend and review the housing subscription schedule for the rights offering (paid-in capital increase),” adding, “I judged that proceeding with the rights offering (paid-in capital increase) in a situation where risks from labor disputes are not sufficiently explained and uncertainty is high does not align with the purpose of the rights offering (paid-in capital increase) union, which is ‘asset formation for workers.’”
Samsung Biologics is pushing to acquire Switzerland’s Polypeptide Group in order to enter the peptide contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business, which has attracted high attention from the global pharmaceutical and bio markets due to increased demand for obesity treatments. To this end, the board of directors decided on August 28 on a rights offering (paid-in capital increase) of approximately 2.665 trillion won in the form of an allocation to shareholders followed by a general public offering of unsubscribed shares. The housing subscription is scheduled for next month.
In the industry, there are also interpretations questioning how much practical effect the union’s request for review will have on the rights offering (paid-in capital increase) being conducted by resolution of the Samsung Biologics board of directors. Some critical views suggest that the Samsung Biologics union may be exerting excessive effort in its negotiation strategy after facing difficulties in negotiations with the company side.
Previously, the Samsung Biologics union sent a letter on the 6th demanding collective bargaining regarding personnel and wage systems to Samsung Electronics, the second-largest shareholder of Samsung Biologics. On the same day, the union also posted leaflets containing vulgar derogatory expressions directed at the representative director at its Songdo site in Incheon.
The Samsung Biologics union announced on the 1st that it would launch a second general strike for three weeks starting from the 26th, following the third post-adjustment meeting. The Samsung Biologics union is demanding a fixed wage increase of approximately 15% and a performance-based pay distribution of 15% of operating profit. The company side proposed a wage increase rate of 6.2%.
Samsung Biologics stated, “Through negotiations over the past 10 months and the third adjustment meeting of the Labor Relations Commission, the company has presented the maximum plan it can bear,” adding, “The company will continue to make efforts to communicate in order to resolve matters through dialogue, but we will respond firmly regarding recent illegal acts.”
It further stated, “Unpaid wages arising from participation in strike and other labor dispute actions (by the union) will not be compensated or preserved in any manner or form, in accordance with relevant laws and principles,” and revealed that “defamation or insulting derogatory acts that harm healthy labor-management relations cannot be justified under any circumstances.”
in THEBIO
