GM Korea union launches another partial strike as labor talks stall

The GM Korea union has launched another partial strike, following walkouts on Wednesday and Thursday of last week.

According to the Korean Metal Workers' Union's GM Korea chapter, labor and management held their 16th round of wage and collective bargaining talks Tuesday but failed to reach an agreement.

As a result, the union began a four-hour partial strike starting with the afternoon shift Tuesday. The walkout is set to continue through Wednesday, with both the morning and day shifts each striking for four hours.

The union is demanding a performance bonus of about 30 million won ($20,200) per member, a monthly base pay increase of 149,600 won, and a commitment to assign new vehicle models to its plants. Management had proposed at the 14th round of talks a monthly base pay raise of 81,000 won — including seniority increments — and a performance bonus of 11.5 million won, but the two sides could not bridge their differences.

"I have said many times that this year's fight is not about squeezing out a few more won," said An Gyu-baek, head of the GM Korea chapter. "Wednesday's session is in effect the last round of talks before the summer recess, so if there is no further progress, we will not hesitate to escalate our action."