80% of Korean GM Union Members Support Dispute... Strike Approaches

Among Over 7,800 Union Members, 6,225 Approve Strike Action 'Passed'... Only 703 Opposed

Korea GM Bupyeong Plant (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The Korean GM labor union has taken a step closer to striking. This follows the union conducting a vote among all its members on whether to engage in industrial action related to this year's collective bargaining, resulting in an 80% approval rate.

According to industry sources on the 2nd, the Korean GM union held a vote on industrial action from the 1st to the 2nd, targeting all 7,778 union members. A total of 6,225 voted in favor, passing the motion. With 6,955 members participating, the turnout was 89.4%, and only 703 members opposed the action.

By plant, the Incheon Bupyeong plant recorded the highest approval rate at 85.2%, followed by the Changwon plant at 82.2%. Union members belonging to the maintenance branch showed a 77.3% approval rate, while those in the office branch had only 57.3% in favor.

Since the majority of union members approved industrial action in this vote, the union can legally proceed with a strike depending on the dispute mediation results from the Central Labor Relations Commission. The union is continuing negotiations with management while preparing to apply for dispute mediation with the commission. If the commission decides to suspend mediation following the union’s application, a strike will become possible.

The Korean GM union has held eight rounds of negotiations with management from the end of July until yesterday but has failed to narrow their differences.

In this year’s wage and collective agreement, the union demands a basic monthly wage increase of 120,304 KRW and a performance bonus of 400% of the ordinary wage plus 6 million KRW. They also insist that management present future plans to increase production volume at the Bupyeong 2 plant since 2022, along with measures to boost domestic sales.

However, management states that due to difficulties in company operations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not easy to accept these demands as they are.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.