Kia Union Tentatively Agrees on Wage and Collective Bargaining Agreement with 68.2% Approval... First Dispute-Free Settlement in 10 Years

Completion of This Year's Wage and Collective Agreement Negotiations Two Months After the First Meeting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Kia Motors' labor union approved the tentative agreement on wage and collective bargaining through a member vote, concluding the negotiations without any disputes for the first time in 10 years.

On the 27th, Kia announced that out of 28,604 total union members, 26,945 (94.2% turnout) participated in the vote on this year's tentative wage and collective bargaining agreement, with 18,381 (68.2%) voting in favor, thus passing the agreement. This corresponds to a 64.3% approval rate of the total membership.

With the majority of union members approving the tentative agreement, Kia Motors and the labor union completed the wage negotiations without any strikes for the first time in 10 years since the dispute-free agreement in 2011.

Earlier, after the first meeting, Kia and the union reached the tentative agreement during the 13th main negotiation session held on the 24th at Autoland Gwangmyeong (formerly Sohari Plant), about two months later.

The tentative agreement includes a base salary increase of 75,000 KRW (including regular seniority increments), a performance bonus of 200% + 3.5 million KRW, a special quality improvement incentive of 2.3 million KRW, traditional market gift certificates worth 100,000 KRW, and the issuance of 13 shares of stock.

Of the performance bonus, 100% + 3.5 million KRW and the special incentive will be paid immediately upon agreement, while the remaining 100% will be paid at the end of this year.

This is similar to Hyundai Motors, which concluded wage and collective bargaining for three consecutive years without disputes based on an agreement of a 75,000 KRW base salary increase and a 200% + 3.5 million KRW performance bonus.

Additionally, the labor and management signed a 'Labor-Management Win-Win Agreement for Responding to Future Industrial Changes' to address the restructuring of the 4th industrial revolution, and agreed to improve employee welfare, including discounts on first car purchases and support for student loan interest.

The signing ceremony is scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. on the 30th at Autoland in Sohari, Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province.

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