Seoul, May 14 (IANS) Samsung Electronics and the government on Thursday urged labour unions at the world’s largest memory chipmaker to resume wage negotiations after government-mediated talks collapsed earlier this week.

The South Korean tech giant sent an official document to its two major labour unions in what is widely viewed as a last-ditch effort to avert a strike scheduled for next Thursday.

Two days of government-led mediation talks ended without an agreement Wednesday, as labour and management remained sharply divided over performance-based bonuses tied to the earnings related to the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) amid an upcycle in the semiconductor industry, reports Yonhap news agency.

The National Labor Relations Commission on Thursday also called on the two sides to hold another round of government-mediated talks Saturday.

However, the union reaffirmed its position that it has no intention of engaging in further dialogue unless key demands are addressed.

“There is no reason to continue the dialogue without the institutionalization of bonus payments and transparency,” said Choi Seung-ho, head of Samsung Electronics’ largest labour union.

Choi earlier said around 41,000 unionized workers had expressed their intention to participate in the planned 18-day general strike, adding that the number could rise to more than 50,000.

The union has demanded fixed performance bonuses equivalent to 15 percent of the operating profit generated by the company’s semiconductor division, along with the removal of the payout cap.

Management, meanwhile, proposed maintaining the cap while offering a one-time special compensation package for employees in the semiconductor sector.

Samsung Electronics posted a record 57 trillion won (US$38.2 billion) in operating profit for the first quarter, driven by strong demand for AI memory.

Earlier, South Korea’s top economic and financial policymakers called for the prompt settlement of a labor dispute at Samsung Electronics, warning that a possible strike could threaten the country’s economy amid a semiconductor supercycle.

Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and other heads of financial authorities made the joint remarks during a meeting on the potential fallout from a planned walkout by Samsung Electronics workers, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

–IANS

na/