Hyundai Motor Union Votes on Wage Deal

The Hyundai Motor union is currently conducting a vote among its 39,000 members across various workplaces in South Korea, including plants in Ulsan, Jeonju, Asan, and the Namyang Research and Development Center. The voting process began at 6 a.m. on August 31 and will be conducted at the union office in Ulsan. The ballots will then be transported back to the union office for counting.

A majority of participating members and voters casting ballots in favor would result in a final settlement of this year's wage negotiations. The tentative agreement proposed by labor and management includes an increase in monthly basic pay by 100,000 won ($76.92), payment of a 400% performance bonus totaling 12.7 million won ($9,769.23), provision of 15 shares of Hyundai Motor stock, 500,000 won ($384.62) in welfare points, and a 200,000 won ($153.85) increase in summer vacation allowance.

The agreement also addresses future employment stability by committing to hire 500 technical workers by 2028 and withdraws a previous claim for damages filed by the union.

Negotiations between labor and management were contentious, with disagreements over wage increases, reinstatement of dismissed workers, retirement age, and bonus amounts. The union organized 60 hours of strikes during negotiations, causing production lines to halt for a total of 120 hours, twice the strike duration. Production disruptions prompted a swift reaching of a tentative agreement, ending the strikes.

The ballot counting is expected to be completed late at night on August 31, as ballots from all plants nationwide need to be transported to the Ulsan plant. If the agreement is rejected, labor and management must resume negotiations. However, if approved, Hyundai Motor is anticipated to expedite management normalization during the second half of the year.