The Hyundai Motor labor union, which has secured the legal right to strike, is ratcheting up pressure on management. Separately from management's request to resume talks, the union launched the Central Struggle Countermeasures Committee and decided to suspend all Saturday overtime starting on the 6th of next month.
According to the industry on the 30th, the Hyundai Motor chapter of the Korean Metal Workers' Union held an inauguration ceremony for the committee that afternoon. The committee is a body where the union discusses the schedule and direction of a strike. That day, the committee decided to refuse both extended work and Saturday overtime starting on the 6th of next month.
However, the union will maintain a "fight and negotiate in parallel" stance. This follows Hyundai Motor CEO Choi Young-il's proposal on the 29th to resume talks. Labor and management agreed to restart negotiations on the 2nd of next month. This will be held 20 days after the union declared a breakdown in talks at the 11th round on the 12th, when the company presented no proposal.
The Hyundai Motor union has already secured the right to strike. In a strike action vote held on the 24th among all 39,668 members, 86.65% voted in favor. On the following day, the 25th, the Central Labor Relations Commission of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) issued a decision to halt mediation, satisfying both conditions required to secure the right to strike.
If management fails to persuade the union in the resumed talks, the union is expected to consider a full-scale strike schedule beyond refusing overtime.
The core issues in this year's talks are wage increases, bonuses, and extending the retirement age. The union is demanding a 149,600 won increase in the monthly base salary (excluding step increases) and a performance bonus equal to 30% of last year's net profit. It also included separate demands for a full monthly salary system, raising the regular bonus from 750% to 800%, reducing working hours without intensifying workload, extending the retirement age in line with the start of national pension benefits (up to age 65), and hiring additional staff.