Strike Turning Point Hyundai Motor, Additional Negotiations Today... Will There Be a Dramatic Settlement?

The Hyundai Motor Union held a temporary delegates' meeting on the 5th at the Hyundai Motor Culture Hall in Buk-gu, Ulsan, to resolve to initiate a dispute related to this year's wage and collective bargaining negotiations. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] The Hyundai Motor Company labor and management, which have been in conflict over the collective bargaining agreement, will resume negotiations.

According to related industries on the 20th, Hyundai Motor labor and management will hold the 17th round of negotiations on the morning of the day in Ulsan.

Hyundai Motor labor and management have held 16 rounds of collective bargaining negotiations until last week but failed to reach an agreement. As a result, the union is increasing pressure on the management by raising the possibility of a strike.

At the 16th negotiation held on the 16th, Hyundai Motor presented the union with a second proposal including a monthly base wage increase of 59,000 KRW, performance bonus of 125% + 3.5 million KRW, quality improvement incentive of 2 million KRW, 5 free shares, and 100,000 welfare points.

The first proposal included a base wage increase of 50,000 KRW (including seniority increment), performance bonus of 100% + 3 million KRW, quality improvement incentive of 2 million KRW, and welfare points worth 100,000 KRW. The second proposal was worth 14.13 million KRW in total, which is 2.99 million KRW more than the first proposal.

However, the union rejected the second proposal as well. The union argued that the proposed base wage increase of 99,000 KRW and performance bonus, which do not reach 30% of net profit as requested, are insufficient, and that the management maintains a stance that extending the retirement age is difficult.

It is understood that the management will present a third proposal to the union on this day. The third proposal is expected to include higher wages and performance bonuses than the second proposal, as well as additional welfare benefits. However, the contentious issue of retirement age extension is still reportedly viewed negatively by the management.

Hyundai Motor's position is that the retirement age extension is difficult to accept due to serious social issues regarding youth employment and significant differences in perception among employees.

As an alternative, they have proposed expanding some senior contract positions and a continued employment system after senior contract termination, but the union also considers this insufficient.

The Hyundai Motor labor-management collective bargaining agreement is expected to be a turning point for agreement this week. Both sides aim to reach a deal before the summer vacation, but if the gap between their positions does not narrow, a strike is possible.

If the Hyundai Motor union strikes this year, it will be the first time in three years since 2018. As negotiations have prolonged, Hyundai Motor's Ulsan plant has not yet scheduled weekend overtime this week, raising concerns about production disruptions.

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