SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- Unionized workers at Samsung Biologics Co. on Friday kicked off a three-week partial strike, marking the third time they have engaged in collective action.
The walkout comes as workers have called for a wage increase and an overhaul of the company's HR policies.
A total of 400 members, accounting for around 10 percent of the entire unionized workers, are taking part in the strike, which is set to run through Nov. 27, the labor union said.
"Our working conditions should improve along with the company's growth," a member of the union said at the bio company's headquarters in Songdo, just west of Seoul.
Unionized members at Samsung Biologics and management have been at odds for more than two years over wage increases and working conditions.
Members have demanded the company increase their base pay by 9.5 percent and distribute 15 percent of the operating profit in performance-tied incentives. But the bio arm of Samsung Group, South Korea's largest business conglomerate, has countered with a 6.2 percent increase in base pay and a one-off incentive payment.
In late April, around 60 members staged a partial walkout, marking the first such collective action since the company's founding in 2011.
A month later, some 2,800 members of the union staged a general strike, which was followed by a work-to-rule campaign.
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