Hyundai Motor workers stage full-scale strike over wage disputes
Summary
Hyundai Motor workers staged a full-day strike Friday in Ulsan, Jeonju and Asan after wage talks with management failed. The union said the action is the first eight-hour strike in 10 years and warned of further walkouts Monday and Tuesday. Continued strikes have already led to about 60 hours of work stoppages since May, with estimated losses of 55,200 vehicles and more than 2.3 trillion won in sales. Kia workers also approved partial strikes after separate wage talks stalled.
Key Facts
- About 39,000 union members took part in the Hyundai Motor walkout, and production lines at the Ulsan, Jeonju and Asan plants were set to be halted for a combined 16 hours across two work shifts.
- The union has staged a combined 60 hours of strikes since wage talks with management began in May.
- Industry sources estimated cumulative production losses at around 55,200 vehicles and lost sales at more than 2.3 trillion won, or 1.64 billion dollars.
- Hyundai Motor management and the union remain split over wages, a proposed 50 percent increase in performance-based pay, reinstatement of dismissed union members and an extension of the retirement age.
- Kia workers approved partial strikes from Wednesday through Friday after failing to narrow wage differences with management, and the union is seeking a 149,600 won monthly base pay increase and a performance bonus equal to 30 percent of last year’s operating profit.
Hyundai Motor Co.'s employees at a plant in Ulsan leave as they stage partial strikes, Thursday. Yonhap
The labor union of Hyundai Motor launched a full-day strike Friday after failing to reach an agreement with management over wages, raising concerns about further production disruptions amid sluggish vehicle sales.
It marks the first time in 10 years that the automaker's union has staged an eight-hour strike.
Production lines at Hyundai Motor's plants in Ulsan, Jeonju and Asan are set to be halted for a combined 16 hours across two work shifts, with about 39,000 union members participating in the walkout.
Including Friday's walkout, the union has staged a combined 60 hours of strikes since wage talks with management began in May.
The continued strikes are estimated to result in cumulative production losses of around 55,200 vehicles, with lost sales exceeding 2.3 trillion won ($1.64 billion), according to industry sources.
Production disruptions are expected to worsen as the union plans additional four-hour walkouts Monday and Tuesday.
The latest labor action comes after management and the union failed to narrow their differences over wages, a proposed 50 percent increase in performance-based pay, the reinstatement of union members dismissed over illegal activities and an extension of the retirement age.
Also on Friday, the labor union of Kia, Hyundai Motor's sister company, approved a plan to stage partial strikes from Wednesday through Friday after failing to narrow differences with management over wages.
The union is demanding a 149,600 won increase in monthly base pay and a performance bonus equivalent to 30 percent of the company's operating profit last year.
If the union proceeds with the planned walkouts, they would mark Kia's first strike in six years.
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