Kia management and labor's "2025 tentative wage agreement" passed the union members' ratification vote, finalizing the collective bargaining. Kia will continue its "five consecutive years of no-strike collective bargaining settlements" that began with the 2021 wage negotiations.
Kia produced the tentative 2025 wage agreement on Sep. 25, and the ratification vote by union members was held on the 30th.
Of a total 25,812 union members, 21,356 participated in the vote, and among those who voted, 15,601 voted in favor (73.1%) and 5,710 voted against (26.7%), so the tentative agreement was finally approved.
The agreement prepared by Kia included hiring 500 engineers (production workers) by 2026, transforming the domestic Autoland (plant) into a key hub leading the future automotive industry to strengthen sustainable competitiveness, signing a "joint special declaration by labor and management to respond to future changes" that includes building safe workplaces to create a healthy working environment and responding proactively to global market changes based on mutual respect and trust among employees.
Wages and performance incentives agreed to: △base pay increase of 100,000 won (including step increase) △management performance bonus 350% + 7,000,000 won △production and sales target achievement incentive 100% + 3,800,000 won △commemorative incentive 5,000,000 won for being selected for the "World Car Awards" two years in a row △collective bargaining settlement incentive 53 weeks △traditional market gift certificates 200,000 won, among others.
The signing ceremony is scheduled to be held on Oct. 1.
On Sep. 25, at the seventh main negotiation held at Autoland Gwangmyeong, Kia produced the tentative 2025 wage negotiation agreement with five consecutive years without labor disputes. In negotiations attended by CEO Choi Jun-young and union chief Ha Im-bong among others, both sides agreed that labor and management must work together to overcome the crisis amid a worsening business environment, leading to the agreement.
Negotiations faced difficulties over major issues such as extending the retirement age and a four-day workweek, where labor and management had significant differences, but they reached a smooth agreement based on a shared understanding that they must overcome the crisis together.
In this agreement, labor and management also signed a "joint special declaration by labor and management to respond to future changes."
The declaration includes commitments to create a healthy working environment by building safe workplaces, and to respond proactively to global market changes based on mutual respect and trust among employees, working together for sustainable growth. It also agreed to strengthen the sustainable competitiveness of the domestic Autoland and to transform the domestic Autoland into a key hub leading the future automotive industry. It also included plans to strengthen Autoland's manufacturing competitiveness in the mid to long term amid changes in the industrial environment such as shifts in global auto demand and new technology development.
They also agreed on improving working conditions. They decided to renovate Autoland's aging sanitation facilities and, as part of childcare support, agreed to provide congratulations gifts to employees whose children reach their first birthday.
Also, on the 24th, in a special consultation on ordinary wages held in parallel with collective bargaining, labor and management agreed to include allowances, holiday bonuses, and summer vacation pay in ordinary wages to resolve confusion about the criteria for the scope of ordinary wages.
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