Hyundai Motor Union Strikes for the First Time in 5 Years... 4-Hour Operation Halt

The Hyundai Motor Company labor union began a partial strike on the 12th. The Hyundai Motor union is participating in the general strike of the Metal Workers' Union under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and will halt operations at all domestic factories for 4 hours.

On the 12th, Hyundai Motor announced that production would be suspended for a total of 4 hours, with 2 hours each for the morning and afternoon shifts at all business sites including the Ulsan plant. This is the first time the Hyundai Motor union has gone on strike in 5 years since 2018.

This strike sparked controversy over its legitimacy in the decision-making process. The Hyundai Motor union decided to participate in the strike without sufficient dispute mediation procedures from the Central Labor Relations Commission. Since there was no strike approval vote, the illegal strike controversy intensified.

On the 12th, when the Korean Metal Workers' Union went on a general strike, morning shift workers at Hyundai Motor's Ulsan plant left work two hours early.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Hyundai Motor has defined this union strike as an "illegal political strike" and plans to hold legal responsibility. A Hyundai Motor official stated, "We will apply the 'no work, no pay' principle to participants in the strike," taking a tough stance.

The Hyundai Motor union countered that the right to strike is a legitimate right guaranteed by the constitution and is not illegal. They are encouraging the strike by warning that those who do not participate will be excluded from all welfare benefits related to union negotiations.

Within Hyundai Motor, it is estimated that stopping domestic factories for 4 hours due to this strike will result in a loss of 53 billion KRW. Breaking this down by the minute, the strike causes a loss of 2.2 billion KRW per minute.

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