Korea GM Union Decides Partial Strike... Three Days on June 6, 9, and 10

Opposition to Changing Labor Agreement Cycle from 1 Year to 2 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The Korean GM (General Motors) labor union has decided to carry out a partial strike for three days due to conflicts with management over wage and collective bargaining negotiations.

The Korean GM branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union held a central dispute countermeasure committee meeting on the 5th and established guidelines for the struggle, including partial strikes. Workers in the first and second shifts at Korean GM will strike for four hours each on the 6th, 9th, and 10th of this month. Additionally, the refusal to work overtime and special shifts, which began on the 23rd of last month, will continue.

Previously, the union conducted partial strikes on the 30th of last month and the 2nd of this month, during which first and second shift workers each refrained from working for four hours over two days.

On the 29th of last month, during the 21st round of collective bargaining, management proposed a final offer to change the wage negotiation cycle from one year to two years and to pay a total of 7 million KRW per union member, including performance bonuses. However, the union did not accept this proposal.

The union requested management to present a plan to maintain the wage negotiation cycle at one year without changes, but when management refused, the union rejected further negotiations and held the dispute countermeasure committee meeting on this day to resolve to strike again.

If management does not present a plan to maintain the wage negotiation cycle, the union plans to hold another dispute countermeasure committee meeting on the afternoon of the 10th to set follow-up struggle guidelines.

Meanwhile, in this wage and collective agreement negotiation, the union demanded a basic monthly wage increase of 120,304 KRW and a performance bonus payment averaging over 20 million KRW, calculated as 400% of the ordinary wage plus an additional 6 million KRW.

The union also requested management to present plans to allocate new car production volumes to the Incheon Bupyeong 2 plant, but management repeatedly stated that they would only extend the production schedule of already assigned vehicles.

The union is concerned that after the discontinuation of the compact SUV 'Trax' and the mid-size sedan 'Malibu,' which are currently produced at the Bupyeong 2 plant, the plant may be closed or undergo restructuring.

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