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JTI Korea resolves 3-year disputes with union
By Jun Ji-hye
Japan Tobacco International's (JTI) Korean unit has resolved a labor-management dispute over wages and working conditions after nearly three years of negotiation, signing an agreement with the union on Monday, the tobacco company said Tuesday.
By Jun Ji-hye
JTI Korea said it signed a long-term wage agreement that guarantees wage increases that exceed inflation rates over the next three years until 2021. The company will also provide student funds for employees' children from kindergarten to university.
The company said the agreement will contribute to providing long-term job security and improved conditions for JTI Korea's field sales team, while securing business sustainability.
The tobacco maker stressed that the management and the union reached a reasonable solution despite mounting challenges facing the tobacco industry such as a shrinking market and tightening government regulations, as well as the continuous anti-Japan sentiment in Korea.
While many predicted that JTI, under significant pressure amid rising anti-Japan sentiment, would cut its workforce, the result, however, was a multi-year agreement, which will maintain full-time employment for all employees, the firm noted.
“We have listened to and communicated openly with employees to resolve the labor-management disputes while continuing sincere talks with the union, with all the support also from the Korea Federation of Food Industry Workers' Union and the Ministry of Employment and Labor,” JTI Korea General Manager Jose Luis Amador said.
“This is the result of all of us working together. I am encouraged by the fact that we will explore the future together without a reduction in the number of employees.”