Thousands of unionized workers at Samsung Electronics in South Korea, who had declared an indefinite strike last month, had returned to work by Monday after failing to win concessions from the global tech giant.

       It was the first unionized action in the decades-long history of Samsung, one of the world’s biggest makers of computer chips. But the striking employees, numbering roughly 6,500 or so, accounted for only a fraction of union membership and a sliver of the company’s total work force. Most of them were back at work by Monday, according to Lee Hyun Kuk, the vice president of the Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union.

       For months, the union and the company have failed to reach an agreement on wages, bonuses and vacation days for the workers. In June, union members went on a single-day strike as a warning before starting the indefinite walkout in July. All along, Samsung emphasized that the labor action would not disrupt its operations, a position it reiterated last week.

       Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.