Hankook Tire 1st Union "Partial Strike on 20th"... 2nd Union Wage Negotiations on Same Day

Conflicting Moves Over Wage Negotiations

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Korea Tire & Technology (Korea Tire) branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), known as the Korea Tire Branch, will initiate a partial strike on the 20th. However, the second union, the Korea Tire & Technology Labor Union affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), has wage negotiations scheduled with management on the same day, resulting in opposing stances within the same company’s unions.

According to the Korea Tire Branch on the 19th, the union will carry out a four-hour partial strike tomorrow. A representative of the Korea Tire Branch stated, "We will begin the partial strike on the 20th," adding, "Future schedules will be decided through the Central Dispute Countermeasure Committee meetings held every Tuesday." Industry insiders believe this partial strike is also related to the general strike planned by the Metal Workers' Union on the 20th.

On the other hand, the Korea Tire Labor Union will engage in wage negotiations with the company on the same day. A representative of the Korea Tire Labor Union said, "We started the wage negotiation introductory meeting on the 12th, and negotiations are scheduled again on the 20th," adding, "We will not participate in the partial strike decision made by the Metal Workers' Union branch."

The Korea Tire Branch held a strike authorization vote from the 5th to the 8th among all 2,406 union members, with 2,129 out of 2,258 voters (91.1% of total members, 94.3% of voters) approving the strike. Subsequently, on the 11th, the Central Labor Relations Commission issued a decision to suspend mediation, granting the union a legal right to strike.

The reason the unions within Korea Tire are taking different paths stems from the aftermath of last year’s strike. The Korea Tire Labor Union had been affiliated with the Rubber Industry Federation for decades. Although the Metal Workers' Union branch was established in 2014, it was outnumbered by the Rubber Industry Federation union in terms of membership, so wage negotiations were handled by the Korea Tire Rubber Industry Federation union, the primary union.

However, a large-scale strike occurred last year, and during the agreement process, controversy arose as the union chairman signed the agreement unilaterally without consulting union members, causing a rapid change in the situation. As a result of the conflict, some members of the Korea Tire Labor Union transferred their affiliation to the Korea Tire Branch, which surpassed the Korea Tire Labor Union in membership numbers in January this year.

Moreover, a recent violent incident between Korea Tire labor and management has led each union to express clear opposing positions against the company. Korea Tire announced on the 1st that it filed a police complaint against Metal Workers' Union members for violations of the Act on the Punishment of Violent Acts and Obstruction of Business. Korea Tire claims that the Korea Tire Branch unlawfully halted factory operations in June, causing approximately 300 million won in damages, and that management personnel were assaulted during the incident.

Conversely, the union acknowledges the assault but argues it was mutual, and that the halt in facility operations was due to safety concerns. As the union and management engage in sharp confrontations, concerns over labor-management conflicts at Korea Tire are growing.

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