ULSAN < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

(ULSAN=Yonhap News) Unionized workers at South Korea's top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday that they will hold a partial walkout again from late this week as they could not accept the management's proposal for a wage deal.

The labor union said that it plans to wage a six-hour strike from Thursday while refusing to work overtime this weekend. The move follows a similar partial strike late last week.

The decision came as workers rejected the management's proposal for a pay raise and the extension of retirement age.

The workers called for an 8.16 percent hike in basic pay or 159,614 won (US$156) and for extending the retirement age by two years to 60 without any conditions attached, among other things.

Only when the labor union and the management reach an agreement as late as next Tuesday can negotiations on the wage deal be concluded before the Chuseok fall harvest holiday, which starts on Sept. 6.

Industry watchers said that the partial strike last week alone cost Hyundai Motors and its affiliate Kia 65 billion won in lost production.



Copyrights Yonhap News. All Rights Reserved.