Hyundai Motor's labor union is set to launch its first full strike in a decade after this year's wage negotiations broke down. A brief return to the bargaining table failed to produce an agreement, and a fresh round of walkouts is escalating tensions between workers and management.
The two sides held their 16th round of negotiations at the Ulsan factory on Tuesday but could not reach a deal. They had returned to the table 41 days after their 15th session on July 8, yet remained at an impasse on core issues.
The union announced a five-day strike beginning Wednesday. Workers will stage four-hour partial strikes on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a full eight-hour walkout on Friday. The action will resume after the weekend, with four-hour partial strikes on Monday and Tuesday.
Friday's full walkout will be the union's first since the 2016 collective bargaining dispute — a 10-year gap. Union officials also plan to travel to Hyundai Motor's headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, that day to hold a protest rally.
The central disputes are a bonus increase, the reinstatement of dismissed union members, and an extension of the mandatory retirement age. The union says these long-unresolved issues must be settled in the current round of talks.
Management, however, argues that these matters fall outside the scope of this year's wage negotiations. The company says reinstating workers dismissed for illegal conduct during union activities lacks justification, and that extending the retirement age should follow legislative action by the National Assembly.
At Tuesday's session, the company offered a compromise: revisiting the reinstatement question at year-end and agreeing to negotiate the timing of a retirement-age extension through a supplementary agreement once relevant legislation passes. The union rejected the proposal, calling it "a show offer."
"We resumed talks after a prolonged deadlock, but the company's proposals are still inadequate," the union said. "We will continue efforts to find common ground while using strikes to pressure management."
The union has staged intermittent partial strikes since negotiations opened this year, logging a cumulative 44 hours of work stoppages through Friday. With a full strike now on the horizon for the first time in a decade, labor-management tensions over the wage talks show no sign of easing for now.
sjy@heraldcorp.com
