[Editorial] At Hyundai, both management and labor need to make wise choices

Hyundai Motor Co. has filed a 1 billion won (US$1.06 million) damage lawsuit against its union. The company alleges that when the union walked out in a dispute over year-end bonuses and obstructed a New Year’s event, it made itself responsible for damages. The union is responding by saying it is going to protest all the way up at the company’s main offices in Seoul, but has for the time being decided against a more intense course of action, such as an all-out strike. On the one hand, it looks as if two sides have avoided a head-on collision, but it also looks like resolving the dispute is not going to be easy.

It would be to neither side’s advantage to get in a confrontation from the very start of the year. The general view is that the market is not going to be what it was last year, mainly because of the strong Won. The situation is made no better by the fact the union’s leadership decided to step down in the middle of their terms, and the mood is disadvantageous for the union because of the overall stagnation in the labor movement. This being the situation, it would be foolish for either party to start off the year with a confrontation.

The bonus issue is only the surface of the conflict; on a deeper level, it is each side’s maneuvering over who gets the upper hand in the relationship. The issue of bonuses is something that can be resolved if they are just paid out as agreed, but the written agreement is being interpreted differently by each side, and that is from where the controversy stems. Much of the problem is a matter of differences over the old practice of issuing bonuses at set levels.

As a company, Hyundai Motor just might be thinking that since the public has a poor view of unions right now, this would be the perfect opportunity to change how bonus amounts are determined. However, cornering the union in a hard place might not be to the company’s advantage. The union is soon to vote on a new chairperson, and so it becomes all the more likely members will vote for a so-called "hard-core union" if they become angry at how the organization is being treated. Think about the high stature the Hyundai Motor’s union holds within the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU, Minju Nochong), and you will realize how Hyundai’s union is not in a position to surrender so easily. Over the long run, therefore, treating the union as worthy of dialogue would not be so bad an idea for the company.

The union, in turn, should act in good faith to create an atmosphere of dialogue, and it might want to begin with apologizing for obstructing the company’s New Year’s event. Its members surely know that if the discord grows deeper and affects operations, it is they - more than the company itself - who are the victims. Resolving differences through dialogue instead of confrontation is ultimately in everyone’s best interest. We call on Hyundai Motor Co. and its union to make wise choices.

Please direct questions or comments to [[e-mail]]