Oil Prices Slide on US-Iran Talks, Dollar Strength and Profit-Taking Pressure 
Dollar Steadies Ahead of ECB and BoE Decisions as Markets Turn Risk-Off 
Prudential Financial Reports Higher Q4 Profit on Strong Underwriting and Investment Gains 
India–U.S. Interim Trade Pact Cuts Auto Tariffs but Leaves Tesla Out 
TSMC Eyes 3nm Chip Production in Japan with $17 Billion Kumamoto Investment 
Silver Prices Plunge in Asian Trade as Dollar Strength Triggers Fresh Precious Metals Sell-Off 
Once Upon a Farm Raises Nearly $198 Million in IPO, Valued at Over $724 Million 
Uber Ordered to Pay $8.5 Million in Bellwether Sexual Assault Lawsuit 
Dollar Near Two-Week High as Stock Rout, AI Concerns and Global Events Drive Market Volatility 
Nvidia, ByteDance, and the U.S.-China AI Chip Standoff Over H200 Exports 
SpaceX Pushes for Early Stock Index Inclusion Ahead of Potential Record-Breaking IPO 
OpenAI Expands Enterprise AI Strategy With Major Hiring Push Ahead of New Business Offering 
Asian Stocks Slip as Tech Rout Deepens, Japan Steadies Ahead of Election 
SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates 
South Korea Assures U.S. on Trade Deal Commitments Amid Tariff Concerns 
Global Markets Slide as AI, Crypto, and Precious Metals Face Heightened Volatility 
Washington Post Publisher Will Lewis Steps Down After Layoffs 
Samsung Display finally reached an agreement with the company’s labor union regarding wages. With the development, the workers will now end their planned two-week strike.
The union officials shared on Monday, July 5, that because the management of Samsung Display suggested an agreeable wage terms, they will now be ending their strike soon. Since June 21, six union representatives went on strike to demand a 6.8 percent hike in the workers’ base pay and the action was described as the first-ever walkout in the history of Samsung.
The deal between Samsung and the labor union
As per Yonhap News Agency, the labor union decided to call off its demand of a 6.8 percent wage increase and instead, accepted Samsung Display’s suggestion of just 4.5 percent increase. The representative of the union said that the members of the union voted and 83% agreed so they have approved the company’s proposal.
"We withdrew our wage increase demand for the sake of the company's competitiveness in consideration of the prolonged COVID-19 and intensifying external competition," Samsung’s labor union stated. "The company promised to provide wage data for the next wage negotiations, which will resume four months later."
With the agreed new deal, the six union members who went on strike in Samsung Display’s plant in Asan, are expected to return to work next week. The management and the union are set to formally sign the wage hike agreement this coming Thursday, July 8.
The labor union was only launched in February 2020 under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions. Currently, it has around 2,400 members but this is only 10% of the company’s total number of workers.
First-ever strike in Samsung’s history
The strike was the first-ever in the history of Samsung and it was staged as the workers and the management failed to reach a compromise on salary increase. It was also the first walkout since the jailed Samsung chief, Lee Jae Yong, vowed to abolish the company’s "no labor union" policy.
The Korea Herald reported that if the parties were not able to reach an agreement, Samsung Display would have experienced a full-scale strike that will be joined by hundreds of workers. It was a good thing that the issue did not escalate further and resolved before the strike gets bigger.
