With Lee Jae-yong on Its Board, Samsung Electronics Must Reinitiate Dialogue with SHARPS
한국어 IPEN has joined with trade unions and public interest organizations to endorse a letter from Supporters of Health and Rights of People in the Semiconductor Industry (SHARPS) to Mr. Jae-yong Lee, the heir apparent of Samsung Electronics. The letter urges Mr. Lee to initiate a new dialogue with SHARPS about his company’s occupational disease victims. As of September 2016, SHARPS has profiled 223 Samsung Electronics employees who developed a variety of serious diseases including leukemia, brain tumors, and multiple sclerosis. Of the 223 victims, 76 have died.
A recent AP investigation outlined how Samsung has requested government authorities to withhold critical information from sick workers about chemical exposures. The Samsung issue is occurring during a global effort to address hazardous substances within electronics as a global emerging policy issue under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management.
On the letter, IPEN joined with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational and Environmental Victims (ANROEV), Asian Transnational Corporation Monitoring Network (ATNC Monitoring Network), Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), Samsung Labor Watch (SLW), and Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS).