Hyundai comes to terms with Korean union
Posted Sep 8th 2012 5:00PM
CommentsAdd
Following a tumultuous four months, it appears Hyundai and its labour union have buried the hatchet. According to a report by the Associated Press, the Korean automaker and its labor union have struck an accord that will end the company's first strike in four years.
The deal between the two parties, which will be put to a vote of 40,000 unionized workers on September 3, would eliminate night shifts and increase workers' wages.
The strike, which started in July, has resulted in the loss of US$1.4 billion in potential output. To compensate for the lost time and the new work hours, Hyundai will invest US$264 million in upgrading facilities to maximize output.
The deal is not set in stone yet, as Hyundai workers rejected an earlier deal between union leaders and company management. According to Kwon Oh-il, a labour union official, "In previous years, there were cases when the tentative deal had failed to win majority votes."
Hyundai hopes that this deal will win the vote and workers can get back on task. A partial strike on Wednesday resulted in the loss of 15,000 vehicles in potential output. In spite of this, Hyundai appears able to meet its sales targets this year due to high production volume in the first six months of 2012.
