Hyundai Motor Group Office Workers Union Holds Courtesy Meeting with Chairman Chung Eui-sun

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The Hyundai Motor Group’s office and research workers’ union, mainly composed of the MZ generation (born between the 1980s and 2000s), requested a courtesy meeting with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun as its first official move since its launch last month.

According to industry sources on the 21st, the Hyundai Motor Group Talent Respect Office and Research Workers’ Union sent a document titled “Request for Courtesy Meeting with Management Following Union Establishment” to Chairman Chung the day before.

In the document, the office workers’ union stated, “We believe you have heard enough about our union establishment through various media outlets,” and introduced themselves as “the first industrial union within Hyundai Motor Group targeting office and research workers as members.”

They added, “This year’s collective bargaining, which is about to begin, will be challenging, and the company must be deeply concerned about the announcement of a tough struggle similar to the past in the face of the critical survival issue of transitioning to future vehicles.”

Furthermore, they said, “Both the company, which must struggle to survive in a fierce global competitive environment, and the workers demanding job security amid fears of changes in production methods, can no longer retreat or back down,” and “Our union, which was launched with its own sense of issues, also recognizes that there is no easy way out.”

The office workers’ union emphasized, “A meeting between both parties with no way out is all the more precious,” and requested a response regarding the courtesy meeting by 6 p.m. on the 4th of next month.

The office workers’ union officially launched on the 29th of last month, mainly composed of MZ generation employees who claim that production workers, the main force in collective bargaining, have not actively pursued performance bonus negotiations because they focused on agreeing to extend the retirement age. At the time of its launch, about 500 members joined, and the number of members has been steadily increasing since then.

However, it is difficult for the office workers’ union to participate in this year’s collective bargaining negotiations. According to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (Labor Union Act), in a multiple union system, the union side must go through a “single negotiation channel” process to conduct collective bargaining.

If each union fails to agree during the single negotiation channel process, the union with the majority of all union members becomes the representative for negotiations. Currently, the Hyundai Motor branch under the Metal Workers’ Union holds about 49,000 members in total.

For the office workers’ union to be recognized with separate negotiation rights, it must be acknowledged by the Labor Relations Commission that separation of negotiation units is necessary. The office workers’ union is expected to exert influence by first increasing its strength and presence.

Meanwhile, the union composed of Hyundai Motor production workers has finalized this year’s demands, including a wage increase of 99,000 KRW (excluding regular and seniority increments), a 30% performance bonus payment, and retirement age extension (up to age 64) based on the year before the year when old-age pension receipt begins.

They are also opposing Hyundai Motor Group’s 8 trillion KRW-scale investment plan in the United States. Regarding new businesses such as next-generation vehicle development, they argue that investments should be made only domestically. The production workers’ union plans to request a courtesy meeting for this year’s collective bargaining negotiations with management by the end of this month.

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