Renault Samsung Motors Union Losing Both Justification and Momentum

Strike Participation Rate Falls to 20% Range Amid Negotiation Breakdown
Breaking Industry Norms, Strike Continues During Negotiation Period
Sudden Union-Called Strike Causes Sharp Drop in Production Volume

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] As the strike participation rate of the Renault Samsung Motors labor union dropped to the 20% range, losing momentum, and the difficult-to-resume negotiations ended in failure, the labor-management conflict is becoming prolonged.

In particular, the union is drawing criticism for abruptly launching a strike during negotiations, breaking the usual practice of not striking during bargaining.

According to Renault Samsung and the union on the 9th, the 9th round of the 2019 wage and collective bargaining agreement negotiations held the previous day ultimately broke down. The labor and management, having confirmed their differences, agreed to continue negotiations in the afternoon.

The union carried out another partial strike starting from the night shift on the day the negotiations collapsed. Striking during negotiations is an unusual occurrence. The union has repeatedly struck for periods ranging from 4 to 13 hours daily since the 3rd, except for the first working day of the new year on the 2nd.

At the beginning of the strike on the 23rd of last month, the union's strike participation rate was as high as 40%, but it fell to 28.6% on the 7th of this month. This appears to be due to union members' fatigue from the prolonged strike continuing since last year and dissatisfaction with the union leadership.

Renault Samsung Motors Busan Plant / News = Yonhap News Agency

Accordingly, the union is pushing forward with a 'guerrilla-style designated strike' targeting key positions. Due to the nature of the automobile production process, which operates organically, even a designated strike by a small number of personnel can halt the entire production line. Before the designated strike, the Busan plant was able to produce nearly 300 vehicles per day by utilizing overtime despite a strike participation rate exceeding 30%. However, after the designated strike, production dropped to about 90 to 150 vehicles per day.

The union claims there are no procedural flaws in the guerrilla-style designated strike. A union official stated, "Before the designated strike, we send official notices and immediately provide the list of strikers to management, so there is no issue with procedural legitimacy."

However, as the strike participation rate declines, the scale of losses is increasing, putting management in a difficult position. It is estimated that Renault Samsung has suffered losses amounting to 120 billion KRW from this strike alone. An industry insider said, "Renault Samsung's sales and operations were gaining momentum, but the union's strike seems to be holding them back, which is unfortunate."