Kia Motors Union to Begin Partial Strike for 5 Days Starting from the 14th Next Week

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The Kia Motors labor union is entering its fourth consecutive week of partial strikes.

According to Kia Motors on the 11th, the union held a dispute countermeasure committee meeting that morning and decided to reduce working hours by 4 hours per day for morning and afternoon shifts from the 14th to the 17th, and by 6 hours on the 18th.

Earlier, the Kia Motors labor and management entered the 15th round of main negotiations for two days starting on the 7th, but the talks ultimately broke down. As a result, the union carried out partial strikes for three days from the 9th to the 11th, reducing working hours by 4 hours per day per shift. Next week, the number of partial strike days will increase to five, effectively intensifying the strike.

The Kia Motors union is demanding the restoration of 30 minutes of overtime, along with ▲ a 120,000 KRW increase in base pay ▲ payment of 30% of last year's operating profit as performance bonuses ▲ installation of electric and hydrogen vehicle module parts factories within existing plants ▲ and extension of the retirement age. During the last main negotiation, significant agreements were reached on wages, bonuses, and the plan to install electric and hydrogen vehicle module parts factories within existing plants, but it is reported that differences remained unresolved regarding the 'restoration of 30 minutes of overtime.'

The union insists on restoring the 30 minutes of overtime, but the management counters that restoring overtime is essentially a demand for a real wage increase and that to guarantee overtime, other welfare provisions must be reduced.

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