Kia Motors Labor and Management Reach Tentative Agreement on Wage and Working Conditions... 25-Minute Overtime Restored, Base Salary Frozen

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Kia Motors labor and management, which have been undergoing pains such as a four-week partial strike, have reached a tentative agreement on the 2020 wage and collective bargaining negotiations. If the tentative agreement passes in the union members' approval vote scheduled for the 29th, Kia Motors will conclude this year's wage and collective bargaining negotiations.

On the 22nd, Kia Motors announced that the 16th main negotiation, which started the day before at the Sohari plant with labor and management representatives including CEO (Vice President) Choi Jun-young and Union Branch Chief Choi Jong-tae, ended in a marathon overnight negotiation, resulting in a tentative wage and collective bargaining agreement early that morning.

The biggest issue, the "restoration of 30 minutes of overtime," was agreed upon at 25 minutes of overtime, the same level as Hyundai Motors. The union agreed to improve the units per hour (UPH), and in return, the company will preserve wages.

Additionally, labor and management agreed on ▲ freezing the base salary ▲ 150% performance bonus ▲ 1.2 million KRW encouragement bonus ▲ 1.5 million KRW traditional market gift certificates.

A Kia Motors official explained, "The restoration of overtime hours is based on the major premise of wage preservation through recovery of production capacity, and we agreed on specific implementation plans including actual overtime, productivity improvement, additional working hours secured, and production stabilization measures. Also, the existing veteran program has been expanded and reorganized to broaden options so that retirees can continue contributing to the company's growth after retirement."

Along with this, through the 'Agreement for Future Change Response and Employment Stability,' plans for future eco-friendly vehicles and employment stability were prepared. This agreement includes ▲ efforts to stabilize employment for current employees ▲ presentation of future vehicle plans ▲ continuous expansion of R&D investment to secure new technologies ▲ promotion of transition to electric vehicle-exclusive and mixed production systems.

Furthermore, to overcome the crisis in the automobile industry and strengthen co-growth with partner companies, they agreed to create a fair and rational management environment through strengthening the partner company network, a win-win payment system, and a transparent purchasing practice center. They also agreed to operate a 1.5 trillion KRW scale win-win program at the group level.

A Kia Motors official stated, "There was a consensus that labor and management must conclude negotiations to overcome the crisis caused by the re-spread of COVID-19 and to resolve uncertainties in the automobile industry. Although there were various difficulties during the negotiation process, based on mutual understanding and cooperation between labor and management, we expect employees to unite their strength so that the company can take on new challenges."

The Kia Motors union plans to conduct a union member approval vote on the tentative agreement on the 29th. If the majority approves, the tentative agreement will be finally passed.

Previously, Kia Motors labor and management held 16 main negotiations since the introductory meeting on August 27. Although the management proposed the same level of terms as Hyundai Motors on the 16th of last month, the union demanded the restoration of 30 minutes of overtime, extension of retirement age, and direct production of electric vehicle parts, declaring the breakdown of negotiations and conducting a four-week partial strike. It is known that the production disruption caused by this exceeded 30,000 units.

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