New Landscape in the COVID Era... Kia Motors Labor and Management Agree on 'Vaccine Supply' in Wage and Welfare Negotiations

Labor-Management Integrated Industrial Safety and Health Committee to Discuss Volume and Costs

A confirmed case of COVID-19 occurred at Kia Motors' Gwangmyeong Sohari Plant, leading to a temporary suspension of factory operations. As of midnight on the 17th, Gyeonggi Province health authorities reported 10 confirmed COVID-19 cases related to the Kia Sohari Plant. The photo shows the main gate of the Sohari Plant on that day. / Gwangmyeong - Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] On the 22nd, Kia Motors' labor and management reached a tentative agreement on this year's wage and collective bargaining agreement (wage and collective agreement), which notably includes a provision to discuss the supply of COVID-19 vaccines in the future.

According to Kia Motors, the tentative wage and collective agreement prepared by labor and management on this day includes a clause that the company will take steps to secure COVID-19 vaccines to protect the health of its employees. This means that if the COVID-19 situation continues and the safety of vaccines is confirmed for commercialization, the company will pursue securing vaccines. Next year, through the integrated Industrial Safety and Health Committee at Kia Motors, detailed discussions will be held considering factors such as quantity and cost.

This is the first time that a Korean company's wage and collective agreement has mentioned COVID-19 vaccination. Recently, companies have been struggling to prepare their own countermeasures in response to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, as prospects arise that COVID-19 vaccination will be possible starting next year, vaccines have appeared in labor-management consultations as well.

In particular, since automobile manufacturing plants involve many workers operating in the same space, making them vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19, Kia Motors appears to have expressed its intention to strive to secure vaccines.

Earlier, in September, Kia Motors halted operations at the Sohari plant for about three days after 11 employees were infected with COVID-19. Earlier this month, the Gwangju plant also temporarily stopped operations due to confirmed cases.

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