SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) — Hyundai Motor Co. announced on Monday that its unionized workers have warned of a partial strike this week to push for better pay after having gone four years without any industrial action, according to a company spokesperson.
The workers will be holding an eight-hour strike each day from Wednesday to Thursday in the hopes of being heard during this year’s wage negotiations.
The union’s spokesman could not be reached for comment.
“The company and the union are discussing wages and other conditions today and the talks will continue tomorrow,” the spokesman said.
The company has offered an increase of 106,000 won (US$80) in basic pay, 3 1/2 months of performance-based pay and a cash bonus of 8.5 million won per person, while the 44,000-strong union is demanding an increase of 184,900 won in basic salary, 30 percent of the company’s net income last year, nine months of salaries in bonuses for its members, and the extension of retirement age from 60 to 64.
On July 12, Hyundai workers held a four-hour strike in protest against the “anti-union” Yoon Suk Yeol government under the guidelines of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU).
The KMWU has been calling on the Yoon government to stop union repression and for the president to step down.
Hyundai Motor is a core member of the KMWU, which is part of the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).
Hyundai has seven domestic plants in Korea and 11 overseas plants — four in China and one each in the United States, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Russia, India, Brazil and Indonesia. Their combined capacity reaches 5.65 million vehicles.
In this photo taken on July 12, 2023, Hyundai Motor workers leave the carmaker’s main Ulsan plant, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, after holding a four-hour partial strike in protest against the “anti-union” Yoon Suk Yeol government under the guidelines of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU). (Yonhap)
kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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