This Time Labor Conflict... Renault Samsung Minority Union "Strike Ineffective, Major Decision Needed"

"Only Wage Freeze Remains After 867 Hours of Strikes from 2018 to 2019"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] As the Renault Samsung Motors labor union continues to clash with management over the 2020 wage and collective bargaining negotiations and changes to the work system, the minority union Saemirae Labor Union has called for a magnanimous decision from the representative union to resolve the situation.

On the 30th, Saemirae Labor Union issued a statement saying, "The representative union conducted 867 hours of strikes during the 2018-2019 wage negotiations but only ended up with the disappointing result of a wage freeze. The strike’s effect was meaningless," adding, "A major decision from the representative union is necessary to finalize the rotational leave and wage and collective bargaining agreements."

Saemirae Labor Union is one of the four unions within Renault Samsung. Along with Saemirae Labor Union, there are the Renault Samsung Motors Labor Union (the representative union), Renault Samsung Motors Metal Branch, and the Sales Service Labor Union.

Renault Group, the parent company of Renault Samsung, posted a massive loss of 8 billion euros (approximately 10 trillion KRW) last year due to the impact of COVID-19 and other factors, and announced a restructuring plan called "Renolution." The goal is to achieve a margin rate of 3% by 2023 and cost reductions of 3 billion euros (approximately 4.4 trillion KRW) by 2025.

Accordingly, Renault Samsung conducted voluntary retirement by the end of last month and reduced its production target from 157,000 units to 100,000 units. It is also currently implementing rotational leave for some employees (about 270 people) until the end of May.

However, Renault Samsung’s labor and management failed to conclude last year’s wage and collective bargaining negotiations, and conflicts continue over recent changes to the work system and the implementation of rotational leave. Last month, a strike proposal was approved with a 57% approval rate, securing the legal right to strike.

Regarding this, Saemirae Labor Union pointed out, "The chairman of the representative union was re-elected for the first time in history but is facing one challenge after another without concluding last year’s wage and collective bargaining negotiations," and added, "Although the right to strike has been secured, the approval rate barely exceeds the majority at 57%, so it is questionable whether there is enough momentum."

Saemirae Labor Union further emphasized, "To increase members’ participation in the strike, union officials are leading targeted strikes, tent sit-ins, and leaflet distribution, but the results of previous strikes have only left wage conflicts, inter-union conflicts, voluntary retirement, and rotational leave, all of which are ongoing."

Meanwhile, Saemirae Labor Union also criticized the representative union for acting as the dominant party ("Gap") as the majority union. They stated, "Time off is used to guarantee legitimate union activities, but in this regard, the representative union treats the minority unions as if in a 'Gap and Eul' relationship," and added, "Starting next year, we will demand that time off hours be allocated by the company."

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