Hyundai Motor Freezes Wages for First Time in 11 Years... 52.8% of Union Members Approve

Provisional Agreement Passed in Union Members' Vote... Signing Ceremony Scheduled for the 28th

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The Hyundai Motor Union has passed a tentative wage negotiation agreement centered on a wage freeze for this year. With the tentative agreement approved by a 52.8% majority, Hyundai Motor will freeze wages for the first time in 11 years since the 2009 financial crisis.

According to Hyundai Motor on the 26th, the union conducted a vote on the tentative wage negotiation agreement among 49,598 union members on the 25th, with 23,479 voting in favor. The approval rate was 52.8%. Opposition accounted for 46.6% (20,732 votes), abstentions were 10.4% (5,138 votes), and there were 126 invalid votes.

On the 21st, Hyundai Motor management and the union prepared a tentative agreement including a wage freeze, a management performance bonus of 150%, a COVID-19 crisis relief bonus of 1.2 million KRW, 10 shares of employee stock ownership, and 200,000 KRW in traditional market gift certificates. According to this agreement, union members will receive an average of about 8.3 million KRW.

Hyundai Motor’s wage freeze marks the third time in history, following the 1998 foreign exchange crisis and the 2009 financial crisis. It also achieved a two-year consecutive non-dispute settlement following last year.

This outcome is analyzed as a result of mutual understanding between labor and management regarding the COVID-19 crisis situation. From the union’s perspective, continuing confrontation with management amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic was burdensome, and there was little more to gain.

This year’s negotiations also adopted a 'Social Declaration for Joint Labor-Management Development and Changes in Labor-Management Relations.' The core contents include ▲ securing future competitiveness of domestic factories and employment stability for current employees ▲ responding to changes in the future automobile industry such as the expansion of electric vehicles ▲ operating job transition programs in preparation for future industrial changes ▲ and jointly striving to realize labor-management relations with customers and the public.

With the tentative agreement passing the vote, final settlement before Chuseok has become possible. The signing ceremony for this year’s wage negotiation is scheduled for the 28th of this month.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor’s wage negotiation results are expected to influence other domestic automakers whose negotiations are still ongoing. Earlier, SsangYong Motor’s labor and management concluded their wage and collective bargaining early in April, and among the remaining four domestic automakers, Hyundai Motor is the only one to have reached an agreement. Korea GM is showing signs of a strike as labor and management have failed to narrow their differences. On the 24th, the Central Labor Relations Commission decided to suspend dispute mediation, securing the right to strike legally. Kia Motors, which held a somewhat late initial meeting at the end of last month, is also experiencing sluggish discussions.

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