Hankook Tire Struggles with Guerrilla Strikes by Minju No Chong Branch

Branch to conduct irregular strikes 1-8 hours daily from July
Korean Federation of Rubber Workers already reached wage agreement

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] As major automakers and tire industries are wrapping up their wage and collective bargaining negotiations for this year, Hankook Tire is suffering from guerrilla strikes by the Hankook Tire Branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union, affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. Although the wage negotiations with the Hankook Tire & Technology Labor Union, affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions' Rubber Industry Federation, have already been concluded, the branch's negotiations remain stalled. Additionally, there are concerns that the status of the two unions may change in this negotiation, which could lead the branch to adopt a more hardline stance.

According to the tire industry on the 20th, the branch has recently been conducting irregular guerrilla strikes at the Daejeon and Geumsan factories. The partial strikes, which began in July, have lasted from one hour up to eight hours per day.

Due to the branch's partial strikes, the management is reportedly facing difficulties in the production process. Since the timing of the strikes is unpredictable, it is difficult to prepare in advance, and disruptions to the overall production volume, which is organically connected across processes, are inevitable.

The Hankook Tire labor unions consist of multiple unions: the 'Hankook Tire & Technology Labor Union' under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the 'Korean Metal Workers' Union Hankook Tire Branch' under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. Wage negotiations with the branch, which began in April, are still ongoing.

The union already held a signing ceremony for the wage negotiation agreement on the 12th of last month, which included a 5.0% base salary increase. Both management and the union agreed on a 5.0% increase in base salary (including step increments) and a production incentive payment of 1 million KRW, with 60.1% of union members approving the agreement.

The agreement between management and the union represents a wage increase rate more than twice that of the same industry. Kumho Tire concluded this year's wage negotiations with a 2% base salary increase and a 500,000 KRW production incentive payment.

The reason the two organizations within Hankook Tire are taking different paths stems from the aftermath of last year's strike. The union had been affiliated with the Rubber Industry Federation for decades. However, a large-scale strike occurred last year, and controversy arose during the agreement process when the union chairman signed the agreement unilaterally. A unilateral signing means the chairman concluded the collective agreement without confirming the members' intentions or against their will. As a result of the conflict, the branch surpassed the union in membership numbers in January this year. Currently, the two organizations are engaged in a fierce three-way battle over the status of the primary union.

Industry insiders are concerned that the partial strikes may be prolonged because the two unions are engaged in a three-way struggle. It is difficult for the branch to secure more favorable conditions since the union has already concluded wage negotiations. On the other hand, if the union fails to secure better conditions, there is a possibility of member defections. An industry official said, "If the branch manages to obtain better conditions from management than the union, the union will resist," adding, "It seems difficult for the branch to find an exit strategy, so partial strikes are expected to continue for the time being."

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