POSCO Union Strike Action 'Approved'... Focus on Central Labor Relations Commission Mediation on the 30th

The POSCO Labor Union has approved industrial action through a vote by its members. If no agreement is reached with management later, POSCO Union will obtain legal rights to strike and other industrial actions after procedures such as the Central Labor Relations Commission's mediation suspension.

According to the industry on the 29th, the POSCO Labor Union, affiliated with the Federation of Korean Metalworkers' Unions under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the representative bargaining union of POSCO, conducted a mobile vote on industrial action approval from 6 a.m. the previous day until 8 p.m. on the same day for its members. As a result, out of 11,145 total eligible voters, 10,756 participated, and among them, 8,367 (77.8%) voted in favor.

'With Posco' sculpture at the POSCO building in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

The POSCO Union held 24 negotiation sessions with management from May to October to conclude wage and collective agreement contracts but failed to reach an agreement, and on the 10th, submitted a mediation request to the Central Labor Relations Commission. The commission has extended the mediation period for the collective bargaining initiated by the POSCO Union until the 30th.

On the 5th, during the final negotiation, the company proposed a base wage increase of 162,000 KRW, payment of 4 million KRW in stocks, a one-time payment of 1.5 million KRW, and a flexible work system utilizing a biweekly four-day workweek. Additionally, the company suggested forming a joint labor-management task force (TF) to discuss improvements to the performance bonus system, introduction of a job-based wage system, and welfare system enhancements. Meanwhile, the POSCO Union maintains its demands for a 13.1% base wage increase and the provision of 100 company shares to union members.