Kia union votes in favor of industrial action on the 10th on decision to suspend mediation
GM Korea’s labor union discusses resuming negotiations with management on the 10th… Renault Samsung likely to resume main negotiations
After the summer vacation, the auto industry begins a tug-of-war between labor and management again this week to settle wage and collective bargaining.
Although he did not finish his homework before the originally planned summer vacation, attention is being paid to whether he will be able to rein in the negotiations with the goal of reaching a conclusion before the Chuseok holiday this time.
According to industry sources on the 8th, the Kia union will vote for or against industrial action on the 10th for all union members.
Earlier, on the 20th of last month, the Kia union declared a break in negotiations with the management and applied for dispute mediation to the Central Labor Relations Commission (KNOC), which made a decision to suspend mediation on the 30th of the same month.
If the industrial action is approved in the pros and cons, the hunger union will have the legal right to strike.
The Kia union is demanding an increase of 99,000 won in basic salary (excluding salary increase), 30% of the previous year’s operating profit as a bonus, an extension of the retirement age (up to the age of 65), and a reduction in working hours to 35 hours a week.
While the management has yet to propose a separate plan, the union plans to increase its bargaining power by first securing the right to strike.
The union is expected to hold an industrial action committee after a vote in favor of or against it to decide on a schedule for negotiations or strikes.
In GM Korea, where a provisional agreement on the collective bargaining agreement was rejected once last year as well, the provisional agreement prepared by labor and management was rejected in a vote for and against union members last month, and negotiations have returned to the starting point.
The union will hold an expanded executive joint meeting on the 10th to discuss countermeasures following the rejection of the provisional agreement, such as resuming negotiations with the management.
After the executive meeting, it is known that a strike committee will be held to review whether industrial action such as strikes and refusal of overtime work will be initiated.
Earlier, the labor and management of GM Korea reached a tentative agreement to raise the basic salary by 30,000 won and to provide a lump sum of 4.5 million won, but the union voted against it by 51.15% in a vote for union members held on the 26th and 27th of last month.
As the provisional agreement did not meet the union’s initial proposal of a 99,000 won increase in monthly basic salary and a lump sum payment of 10 million won or more, and as the union members were very dissatisfied with the opaque production situation at the Bupyeong 2nd plant, future negotiations, such as an increase in the amount and future plans, etc. This is likely to be the key to the conclusion of this negotiation.
Renault Samsung Motors’ labor and management, who have not yet finished last year’s wage negotiations, are also expected to resume main negotiations this week.
Previously, the management proposed to pay a total of 8 million won in lump sum payments, including 2 million won in basic wage freeze compensation and 2 million won in productivity incentives per person, for the 2020 and 2021 collective bargaining negotiations. and failed to come up with a tentative agreement before the vacation.
The union plans to decide whether to hold a vote in favor of or against industrial action after seeing additional proposals from the management this week.
However, it is positive for future negotiations that both labor and management agree that there should be no setbacks in securing European exports of the XM3, the core model of the ‘survival plan’.
Renault Samsung Motors began selling the XM3 in 28 European countries in June and exported 7,679 units, followed by 4,863 units in July.
An industry official said, “In order to make up for the production loss caused by the shortage of semiconductors in the first half of the year, it is necessary to finalize the wage negotiations before the Chuseok holiday and focus on production without setbacks. It will have to be done,” he said.
/yunhap news
