Strike or Agreement, Final Hurdle for the Complete Vehicle Industry Strike (Comprehensive)

Hyundai Motor Labor and Management [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Changhwan Lee and Jehun Yoo] Domestic automakers such as Hyundai Motor and Korea GM (GM) are overcoming the final hurdle of this year's summer labor dispute crisis by holding votes related to wages and collective bargaining agreements.

According to the automotive industry on the 27th, the Hyundai Motor labor union began a member vote on the tentative agreement for this year's wages and collective bargaining agreement on the same day.

The Hyundai Motor union is conducting a yes-or-no vote on the tentative wage and collective bargaining agreement for about 48,000 members from 6 a.m. at Ulsan, Jeonju, Asan plants, and Namyang Research Center. The results are expected to be announced by dawn on the 28th. If the majority of voting members approve, Hyundai Motor labor and management will succeed in reaching a three-year consecutive dispute-free settlement.

The wage and collective bargaining agreements of foreign automakers are also at a crossroads. Korea GM has been conducting a two-day vote on the tentative wage negotiation agreement since the day before.

The Korea GM labor union once escalated its offensive stance, including partial strikes, but recently succeeded in preparing a tentative agreement with a basic wage increase of 30,000 won (including seniority increments) and a bonus payment of 4.5 million won.

Korea GM is still far from turning a profit, having suffered production disruptions of about 80,000 vehicles in the first half due to the shortage of automotive semiconductors. This is why both labor and management hurried to prepare the tentative agreement.

Renault Samsung labor and management are also at a crossroads. Having failed to conclude last year's collective bargaining agreement and with negotiations still ongoing, Renault Samsung labor and management resumed main negotiations on this day and continued discussions on the company's proposal.

Both sides are continuing negotiations aiming to reach an agreement before the summer vacation. In the 11th main negotiation held the day before, the company made a dramatic proposal of a lump sum payment of 8 million won. This added a 2 million won compensation for frozen basic wages and a 1 million won bonus to the existing proposal of a 5 million won lump sum.

Considering that the company recorded a deficit of 79.7 billion won last year alone and that domestic sales volume has halved, the industry evaluates that this is the maximum amount the company could offer.

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