Seoul, Apr 8 (IANS): Unionised workers at tech giant Samsung have voted in favour of a strike after failing to reach a deal on wage hikes with management, industry sources said on Monday.

Out of the 27,458 members across five different labour unions within the tech giant, 20,853 participated in the vote held from March 18 to last Friday, with 20,330, or 74 per cent of the total, voting in favour of the strike, sources told Yonhap news agency.

This vote grants the unionised workers the legal authority to proceed with a strike if a 10-day mediation period, arranged by the National Labor Relations Commission, fails to yield a resolution.

Wage negotiations between management and labour broke down in February after rounds of talks over this year's wage increase.

The unions have demanded a 6.5 per cent pay increase with an additional paid day off.

Samsung Electronics announced last month that it has agreed with its workers to an average 5.1 per cent pay raise for the year.

The company has not had a strike since its founding in 1969.