April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Workers at Hyundai Motor will stage a partial strike at the carmaker’s main domestic plants this week in a push for higher wages and bonuses, the union said on Dec. 5.

Hyundai’s 51,000-member union will go on strike for four to six hours till Dec. 8 at five plants in Ulsan, 414 kilometers south of Seoul, as the union seeks to pressure the company to accept their demands in this year’s wage negotiations, spokesman Hong Jae-gwan said over the phone.

Separately from the four-hour strike at the five Ulsan plants on Dec. 5, the union plans to carry out its 36th round of negotiations with the company the same day, Hong said.

Hyundai Motor currently operates seven plants in Korea, including five in the port city of Ulsan. It has also production facilities in the United States, Europe and emerging countries such as China, India and Russia.

In the wage talks that have yet to be concluded, the union has demanded Hyundai raise workers’ basic monthly wages by 154,883 won (US$142) and offer a bonus of 30 percent of the company’s 2016 full-year net profit of 5.72 trillion won.

Citing an unfriendly business environment, however, the company offered to raise basic salaries by 42,879 won per month and to provide bonuses worth 200 percent of basic pay plus 1 million won.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)