Hyundai Motor Union Begins Member Vote on Tentative Wage Negotiation Agreement

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The union member vote on the tentative wage agreement between Hyundai Motor Company labor and management has begun. However, it is difficult to be optimistic about its approval as hardline on-site union groups are opposing the freezing of the base salary.

The Hyundai Motor union started voting from 6 a.m. on the 25th, targeting about 50,000 union members at major workplaces including the Ulsan Plant, Jeonju Plant, Asan Plant, and Namyang Research Center.

The counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. on the same day when all ballot boxes from across the country arrive, and the results are expected to be announced in the early hours of the 26th.

If the tentative agreement is approved, Hyundai Motor labor and management will have frozen wages (base salary) for the first time in 11 years and reached a no-dispute settlement for two consecutive years. Hyundai Motor wages were previously frozen during the 1998 foreign exchange crisis and the 2009 global financial crisis.

Considering the COVID-19 crisis and changes in the automotive industry paradigm, Hyundai Motor labor and management prepared a tentative agreement this year that includes wage freeze, performance bonuses, and efforts to stabilize employment.

The tentative agreement includes a base salary freeze, a 150% performance bonus, a 1.2 million KRW COVID-19 crisis overcoming encouragement bonus, 10 shares of employee stock ownership, and 200,000 KRW worth of traditional market gift certificates to revitalize the local economy.

If the tentative agreement is rejected, confusion is inevitable. Ha Eontae, Hyundai Motor’s Domestic Production Officer, stated in a message to union members the day before, “If negotiations are not concluded this year, considering the ongoing crisis due to the resurgence of COVID-19 and external public opinion, there is absolutely no room for the company to make additional decisions, which will only cause greater confusion and damage to both labor and management.”

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