Strike and Labor Conflict... Will OB Beer Miss the Summer Demand?

7.5% Wage Increase Proposal Breakdown
KCTU Icheon and Gwangju Factories Strike
KCTU Cheongju Factory Agrees to 2.5% Raise
Re-strike Concerns, Possibility of Prolonged Dispute↑

Ob Beer Cheongju Factory Exterior [Image Source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] OB Beer is facing setbacks in targeting the summer market, its peak season, due to a labor union strike. As the strike has continued for over a week, the power struggle between the two major unions is increasing the possibility of a prolonged strike.

According to the industry on the 6th, the nationwide chemical labor union federation OB Beer labor union, which includes the Icheon and Gwangju plants, saw the 8th negotiation fail, resulting in the strike continuing for a week. The union announced that the '2021 wage negotiation final proposal by management' was ultimately rejected with an 84.56% opposition rate in a vote by all union members.

Previously, the union proposed a 7.5% wage increase, while management presented a final wage negotiation proposal including a 2.5% wage increase and a 500,000 KRW market recovery incentive. When the union insisted on the original wage increase proposal, management offered an additional adjustment to the incentive system worth 2 billion KRW exclusively for production workers, but the two sides ultimately failed to narrow the gap.

As the strike at the Icheon and Gwangju plants continues, the Cheongju plant, which had withdrawn from the strike and returned to work on the 2nd, is also highly likely to resume striking. The Cheongju plant, affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Nationwide Chemical, Textile, and Food Industry Union OB Beer branch, agreed to the management’s final wage negotiation proposal including a 2.5% wage increase and a 500,000 KRW market recovery incentive, ending a five-day strike.

However, as the unions at the Icheon and Gwangju plants insist on a 7.5% wage increase, more union members at the Cheongju plant are saying they "regret agreeing to 2.5%." Opinions to start an additional strike are emerging, and the union is currently coordinating these views internally.

OB Beer is facing a difficult situation with an unprecedented nationwide factory strike just before the summer peak season. Expectations were high due to the easing of social distancing and the summer peak season, but if the strike prolongs, supply disruptions may occur.

An OB Beer official stated, "Despite the strike, the plants are operating with minimal staff to ensure there is no disruption in supply," adding, "We will work to reach a labor-management agreement as quickly as possible."

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