Kia Motors Union Temporarily Withdraws Partial Strike... Main Negotiations Resume Tomorrow

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[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Kia Motors labor union has decided to withdraw the partial strike scheduled for the 13th and resume negotiations with management.

According to the union on the 12th, Kia labor and management will withdraw the partial strike planned from the 13th and hold the 14th main negotiation session around 2 p.m. on the same day. The union had declared a breakdown in the main collective bargaining session on the 7th and resolved to conduct partial strikes with reduced working hours of 2 hours and 4 hours on the 13th and 14th, respectively.

Earlier, labor and management reached a tentative wage negotiation agreement in September, including a base pay increase of 98,000 KRW (including seniority increments) and a performance bonus of 200% plus 4 million KRW, but the collective agreement was rejected as it did not receive majority union approval. In the collective bargaining, there was a disagreement between labor and management over how to adjust the duration and discount rate of the vehicle purchase discount benefit provided to employees who retired after working for more than 25 years.

This system originally provided a lifelong 30% discount on new cars every two years, but management proposed lowering the benefit age limit to 75 years old in this year's wage and collective agreement negotiations. This led to growing opposition, especially among employees nearing retirement, and although management proposed a compromise, it was not accepted.

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