"1700 Vehicle Production Disrupted Due to Union Dispute"… Korean GM Urges Union to Reach Wage and Working Conditions Agreement

"COVID-19 Impact: Cumulative Production Losses Reach 60,000 Units with Additional 1,700 Units at Risk"

Korea GM Bupyeong Plant (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Korea GM recently urged the prompt resolution of this year's wage and collective bargaining agreement (Wage and Collective Agreement) negotiations, stating that the labor union's decision to engage in dispute actions could lead to production disruptions and increased burdens on parts suppliers. Korea GM estimated that the union's refusal to work overtime and special shifts would result in production disruptions exceeding 1,700 units.

Korea GM announced on the 26th that it plans to hold the 20th round of 2020 Wage and Collective Agreement negotiations with the union on the 27th. Previously, the labor and management sides held a total of 19 negotiation sessions from the initial meeting on July 22 until the 22nd of this month. In the 18th negotiation on the 21st of last month, the management proposed a comprehensive offer that included special incentive payments and performance bonuses related to wages to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, as well as additional plans for the future development prospects of each plant.

However, after the 19th negotiation, the Korea GM labor union convened the Central Dispute Countermeasure Committee (CDCC) and decided to engage in dispute actions such as refusal of overtime and special shifts starting from the 23rd until the next CDCC meeting.

Korea GM expects that, in addition to the cumulative production loss of 60,000 units caused by COVID-19 and other factors, the union's decision to take dispute actions will cause an additional production disruption of more than 1,700 units. The company also expressed concern that the crisis will worsen for Korea GM’s domestic parts suppliers, who have already been severely impacted by COVID-19, potentially expanding into a downturn in the domestic automobile industry.

Korea GM stated, "Our company supports tens of thousands of jobs, including domestic suppliers, but we are currently facing severe management difficulties due to the recent COVID-19 situation. In an environment of increased management uncertainty, the company is making every effort to achieve rapid business normalization based on confirmed future plans and to proceed without disruption with export programs that are very important for business normalization."

They added, "We deeply regret and are greatly concerned about the union's decision, which has caused additional production losses following those caused by COVID-19. We urge the union to actively cooperate based on mutual understanding so that negotiations can be concluded as soon as possible."

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