Hyundai Heavy Interim Agreement Vote... Summer Struggle Turning Point

Including Base Salary Increase
Negotiations Conclude in 2 Years if Vote Passes

During the first vote by union members on the tentative agreement between labor and management at Hyundai Heavy Industries last February, the vote counting situation

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The Hyundai Heavy Industries labor union will hold a vote among its members on the tentative wage and collective bargaining agreement for the past two years (2019 and 2020) on the 16th. This agreement came after prolonged negotiations stalled due to conflicts arising from the company's past division process. Since two previous member votes held earlier this year were rejected, if this vote also fails to pass, both labor and management are expected to suffer significant internal damage.

Furthermore, this could indirectly or directly affect negotiations at other completed car manufacturers, including Hyundai Motor Company, which also has workplaces in Ulsan and where labor-management conflicts remain unresolved. With sharp differences between labor and management over major issues such as the Serious Accident Punishment Act and minimum wage, if frictions at individual workplaces do not subside, a turbulent atmosphere is expected to continue for a considerable period. This is seen as a watershed moment that could determine the direction of the summer labor struggles across the domestic industrial sector.

According to Hyundai Heavy Industries labor and management, voting was conducted from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ulsan headquarters and other locations, targeting about 7,000 union members. The third tentative agreement on the ballot includes an additional point to erase records of about 2,000 workers who were disciplined simply for participating in strikes, in addition to last year's basic wage increase.

Although the third tentative agreement contains somewhat advanced terms, it is difficult to predict the outcome. Differences remain unresolved regarding the reinstatement of dismissed workers and division compensation. However, with negotiations delayed for over two years, there is considerable fatigue not only among the union leadership but also among frontline employees, and the company's performance shows no signs of improvement for at least one or two years, making it difficult to demand further wage increases.

Signs of labor-management conflicts are also emerging at other workplaces. At Kumho Tire, where recent wage negotiations broke down, the union began a partial strike for two days starting today. Hyundai Motor Company labor and management have resumed negotiations with a deadline of the 20th, and the union has decided to determine whether to continue talks next week based on today's negotiation results.

The Kia union has openly declared its intention to stand in solidarity with Hyundai Motor Company and has demanded a unified proposal from the company, while at Korea GM, the first round of labor-management negotiations is temporarily suspended. At Hyundai Steel, which recently decided to employ in-house subcontracted workers as regular employees of a subsidiary, the irregular workers' branch is insisting that the company itself, not the subsidiary, directly employ them.