Electronics Samsung employees in South Korea go on strike

The employees of the South Korean technology company Samsung went on strike for three days on Monday. The walkout has begun, union leader Son Woo Mok told the AFP news agency.

The union, which represents around a fifth of Samsung employees with 28,000 members, announced the strike last week after months of wage negotiations failed.

A one-day strike at Samsung had already taken place in June for the first time in the company's history. Company management and the union have been negotiating since the beginning of the year over pay rises and transparent performance bonuses, among other things. Most recently, Samsung offered employees a 5.1 percent wage increase, which the union rejected.

For decades, Samsung management had vehemently resisted any unionization of its employees.

Samsung Electronics is one of the world's largest electronics groups and smartphone manufacturers. The company is also at the forefront of manufacturers of particularly powerful computer chips that are required for the use of artificial intelligence.