Unionized workers at Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's leading automaker, plan to launch a partial strike Monday to demand full bonus payments for 2006, its union said Sunday, defying repeated calls from business circles to scrap the plan and unfavorable public opinion over the union's intermittent walkouts.
The automaker's 44,000-member union will conduct the partial strike by cutting both the day and night shifts by four hours on Monday and Tuesday and by six hours from Wednesday.
They have called for formal negotiations with the management to resolve the bonus issue, but the management stands firm against their demand for full bonus payments. The union's leaders decided to go on strike at a meeting on Friday.
Unionists said the company unfairly and unilaterally slashed year-end bonuses by a third. Hyundai said it would only pay each employee 100 percent of his or her monthly salary because the workers failed to meet production targets last year. The bonus cut was in line with an agreement with the union, management said.
The company called the planned strike "illegal and unfair" and promised to "deal with it in accordance with principle." The Ministry of Labor also labelled the planned strike "illegal."
Hyundai said it is willing to hold talks with the workers, but not about demands raised by the union.
The standoff is the latest setback for the world's sixth-largest automaker, which seeks to become a major global player through increased production.
Industry observers said that the present standoff between Hyundai's management and union may drag on for some time because of the gap in perception.
"Executives are open to holding discussions with union leaders, but the nature of the talks will not be supplementary labor-management talks that deal with wages or bonuses," said a company spokesman.
He said the company will take legal action for all damages incurred. South Korea's No.1 carmaker said that, as of Sunday, work stoppage since Dec. 28 has resulted in lost production of 15,147 units worth 227.7 billion won (US$241.7 million).
Last Monday, the automaker announced a 1-billion-won lawsuit against the union and 27 of its leaders for refusal to work overtime. The previous week, tensions boiled over at a New Year's celebration at the Ulsan facility, with physical attacks against Hyundai's president and security personnel.
The threatened strike comes at a particularly difficult time for Hyundai Motor that is struggling to overcome the rising value of the Korean won against the U.S. dollar, which rapidly erodes its profits.
Hyundai Motor shares closed at 63,900 won (US$68) on the local bourse Friday, unchanged from the previous day's end, after peaking at 65,000 won.
On Sunday, five umbrella business and trade organizations urged unionists at Hyundai to call off their strike plan, which could have serious consequences for the economy.
The five organizations are the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Korean Industries, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses, the Korea Employers Federation (KEF) and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).
"The strike is illegal, and the government must take a tough stance against the union," said KEF executive Lee Dong-eung. The five organizations planned to hold an emergency meeting in Seoul on Monday, Lee said.
The KITA said Hyundai Motor accounts for 4.6 percent of the country's total exports and 40 percent of all autos shipped abroad.
The KITA and the other business organizations claimed that it is excessive for union workers to demand year-end bonuses that are equivalent to 150 percent of their monthly salaries, in light of their overall performance in 2006.
Seoul, Jan. 14 (Yonhap News)
Hyundai Motor union to start partial strike on Monday |
