Hyundai Transys Partner Employees Urge Union to Stop Strike

About 300 Partner Company Employees Appeal for Management Crisis on the 6th

About 300 employees from Hyundai Transys partner companies held a rally on the 6th at Hyundai Transys located in Seosan, Chungnam, urging the union to end the long-term strike. The photo shows the scene of the rally. /Photo by Reader

Approximately 800 partner companies of Hyundai Transys have appealed to the labor union’s Seosan branch, urging them to stop the strike, citing a management crisis.

On the 6th, about 300 employees from Hyundai Transys partner companies held a resolution rally at Hyundai Transys in Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do, calling for an end to the union's prolonged strike.

The partner companies appealed to citizens in central Seosan, including the city hall area and Jungang Lake Park, stating, "Due to the prolonged strike that has continued for 30 days, around 800 partner companies are facing a serious crisis, including management losses and worsening financial conditions due to delivery disruptions, as well as concerns over company closures and bankruptcies."

They also said, "The damage from the strike caused by the union's excessive performance bonus demands is being entirely passed on to the partner companies," and urged for an end to the strike and a return to normal operations.

A representative from one of the partner companies who attended the rally said, "When deliveries stop, company representatives have to secure funds to pay their employees' wages," adding, "We have to run around not for performance bonuses, but just to secure salaries and rent. Even if we secure funds, the management losses due to high interest rates fall entirely on the partner companies."

An employee at a partner company said, "For the Hyundai Transys union, this is an issue of performance bonuses, but for partner companies, it is a matter of livelihood. We live in daily anxiety, just waiting for the strike to end," and appealed, "Please think of the employees who are the heads of households, sons, and daughters working at partner companies, and stop the strike as soon as possible."

The Hyundai Transys union has been continuing a full-scale strike for 31 days, along with rallies and protests.

On the 8th of last month, the Seosan Jigok Plant, Hyundai Transys’s largest domestic automatic transmission production base, began a partial strike, and since the 11th, a full-scale strike has been underway.

On the 6th, a rally urging the suspension of the Hyundai Transys labor union's long-term strike was held at Hyundai Transys, organized by representatives of partner companies. /Provided by reader

As the strike has expanded, even the first to third-tier small and medium-sized partner companies supplying materials and parts to the Seosan plant are experiencing delivery disruptions, and finished vehicle plants such as Hyundai Motor Company are also facing difficulties in normal operations as a result.

With the prolonged strike, the shutdown and temporary closure of the approximately 800 first to third-tier small and medium-sized partner companies has become inevitable, spreading concern throughout the entire domestic automotive industry.

A Hyundai Transys official said, "We have been negotiating wages and collective bargaining with the union since June," adding, "However, the union is continuing the full-scale strike, demanding a basic salary increase of 159,800 won (excluding regular raises) and a performance bonus equivalent to 2% of last year's sales."

The official continued, "The performance bonus demanded by the union amounts to about 240 billion won, which is twice last year's operating profit of 116.9 billion won," and added, "If the union's demands are accepted, the company would have to go into debt to pay the bonuses to union members."

Meanwhile, at the 18th round of negotiations held on the 31st of last month, Hyundai Transys offered the union a basic salary increase of 96,000 won (including regular raises), a management performance bonus, and an incentive payment of 400% plus 12 million won.