Korea GM Union Finally Begins Partial Strike

The management presented a 'final proposal' in the previous day's negotiations
but the union stated, "Key issues remain... Unacceptable" and drew the line

Korea GM Bupyeong Plant (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The Korean GM union is finally going on strike. As conflicts deepened during this year's wage and collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations with management, they have entered full-scale struggle.

According to the industry on the 30th, the Korean GM union held a Central Dispute Countermeasure Committee meeting on the 29th and prepared struggle guidelines including partial strikes. Accordingly, Korean GM production workers who are union members in the first and second shifts will strike for 4 hours each on the day and on the 2nd of next month. The suspension of overtime and special work, which is already underway, will also continue until the next dispute committee meeting.

Korean GM labor and management held the 21st negotiation from 2 p.m. the previous day but ended the talks in about 10 minutes after only reaffirming their differences.

During the negotiations, management presented a final proposal, but the union rejected it. In this proposal, management reaffirmed its existing position on future development plans, including the allocation plan for new car production at Bupyeong Plant 2. However, as a new issue, it included paying a total performance bonus of 7 million KRW per person on the premise of a '2-year cycle wage negotiation.' Management explained, "We proposed a 2-year plan to eliminate instability in labor-management relations."

However, the union maintained an unacceptable stance. The union stated, "Although there are traces of consideration in the company's proposal, key issues still exist, so it cannot be accepted," and drew a line by saying, "The 2-year plan is absolutely unacceptable." The union's CBA demands include a basic monthly wage increase of 120,304 KRW and a performance bonus of 6 million KRW plus 400% of the ordinary wage (averaging over 20 million KRW).