Unionized workers at Samsung Electronics collectively used their annual leave to take the day off on Friday, after declaring their intention to take a joint leave of absence for the first time in the company’s history.
The collective action is led by the tech giant’s largest National Samsung Electronics Union(NSEU), which has a membership of over 28-thousand, amounting to 22 percent of the total workforce.
The union, meanwhile, has not revealed the exact number of members taking part in Friday’s group action, as it said it wanted the members’ participation to be voluntary.
As labor and management had engaged in negotiations, including over wages, without progress since January, the union secured the right to take the collective action through a members’ vote, before announcing the planned strike on May 29.
Friday’s group action, however, will not likely have an adverse impact on Samsung’s production lines, as many workers were reportedly expected to take Friday off to enjoy a long weekend starting from Thursday’s Memorial Day.