Seoul, March 24 (IANS) Unionised workers at Samsung said on Tuesday they have agreed to resume talks with management ahead of a planned strike in May over bonuses.

“We had a labour-management meeting at 2 p.m., and management expressed its willingness to discuss removing the cap on performance-based bonuses and other issues,” a joint board of three labour unions, including the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), said in a statement.

“Accordingly, we have decided to resume negotiations,” it added, reports Yonhap news agency.

The two sides will hold full-scale negotiations on Thursday and Friday following a working-level meeting on Wednesday.

The announcement came a day after the joint union body held discussions with Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jun Young-hyun.

Last week, the unions said 93.1 per cent of their members supported the strike plan in a vote. The three unions have around 90,000 members.

The unionised workers have been demanding that management remove a cap on bonuses and grant a 7 percent wage hike, along with greater transparency in calculating performance-based bonuses.

Earlier, the workers had vowed to hold a press conference near the residence of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong in Seoul on Monday to announce their collective action, but the union later said it decided to cancel the event after the company’s management suggested a meeting with Jun

During the morning meeting, the co-CEO acknowledged workers’ concerns and said the company will review the union’s demands, according to the union.

Jun, who heads the crucial chip business, said the company needs to consider various options for distributing bonuses among different business units, adding it is open to additional talks in the near future, if necessary, it added.

–IANS

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