Korea GM Union Rejects Tentative Agreement on Wage and Working Conditions Negotiations with 54% Opposition

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] The tentative agreement on this year's wages and collective bargaining (wage and collective agreement) prepared after painful negotiations between the labor and management of Korea GM was rejected in the union's approval vote.

On the 1st, the Korea GM Labor Union announced that 7,364 union members participated in the vote on the tentative wage and collective agreement from the 30th of last month until the morning of this day, with 45.1% in favor and 53.8% opposed, resulting in a final rejection. The remaining 1.1% cast invalid votes. It was reported that the opposition rate was particularly high among union members at the Bupyeong plant.

Since the approval rate did not exceed the majority among voters, the tentative wage and collective agreement between Korea GM labor and management was rejected. As the labor and management conducted negotiations 24 times and painstakingly narrowed their differences to create the agreement, it is expected that the conflict between labor and management will deepen further.

This tentative agreement included a provision for the company to pay a performance bonus of 4 million KRW, including a COVID-19 crisis recovery incentive. It also contained plans to extend the production schedule of models at Bupyeong 2 Plant as much as possible considering market demand and to invest 19 million USD in Bupyeong 1 Plant starting next year.

Following the rejection of this agreement, the union is reportedly considering its next steps, including additional negotiations or a re-vote. The day before, Kim Seong-gap, head of the Korea GM union branch, said, "(The tentative agreement) is well aware that it differs significantly from the expectations of the union members," adding, "Considering the realistic limitations and the accumulated fatigue on site, we had no choice but to make a decision."

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