The POSCO labor union said on the 8th that it held a rally in front of the POSCO Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and would launch a 48-hour partial strike starting on the 9th if management does not present an additional negotiation proposal.
Kim Seong-ho, POSCO union Chairperson, said that day, "If the company does not change its stance, we will proceed with the strike as planned." Kim showed resolve to press ahead with the strike by shaving his head.
If the strike goes ahead, it would be the first time in 58 years since POSCO was founded in 1968. The union said it would halt all lines at the pickling plant at the Gwangyang Works and the 3ZRM line at the No. 2 electrical steel sheet plant at the Pohang Works for 48 hours starting on the 9th. If the company's position does not change after that, it plans to begin a second partial strike for 120 hours starting on the 16th.
Since on the 1st, the union has continued to refuse overtime in some departments at the Pohang and Gwangyang works.
Kim, the Chairperson, said that on the 7th, a day earlier, the union met directly with POSCO President Lee Hee-geun but saw no progress in the talks. The union said Lee merely repeated remarks to the effect that the company is in difficulty and offered no separate, advanced proposal on the union's demands.
The union says it will agree to talks if the company presents a revised proposal even right before the strike.
Labor and management remain far apart over the wage increase and other issues. The union is demanding a 7.1% increase in base pay, a 600% incentive payment, 50 shares in the employee stock ownership plan, and a 200% holiday bonus. Management, by contrast, has proposed a 2.0% increase in base pay, a 3.5 million won performance incentive, one-off payments totaling 4 million won including a 500,000 won local gift certificate, and an expansion of the range for long-service congratulatory payments.
The company says it is difficult to accept all of the union's demands amid a downturn in the steel market due to oversupply from China and global tariff barriers. The company estimates that accepting all of the union's demands would generate an expense of about 1.4 trillion won. POSCO's standalone operating profit for the first half of this year was 487.3 billion won, down 43.3% from the same period a year earlier.
With the union specifying the strike timing, the target plants, and even the second strike schedule, the labor-management conflict is intensifying. In the industry, many say whether POSCO management presents an additional proposal on the 8th will determine whether the company faces its first strike since its founding.