GM Korea reaches tentative wage deal with union
GM Korea and its labor union tentatively agreed on a wage deal on Wednesday after four months of negotiations.
The tentative deal includes the payment of 4 million won ($3,600) as a bonus to all employees by early next year and a guarantee that production of the Trax compact SUV and Malibu sedan at the No. 2 factory in Bupyeong, Incheon will continue for as long as possible.
“The company is pleased that the management and the labor union could come to a tentative agreement,” the company said in a statement Wednesday. “[We will] focus on normalizing the operation of the factory in the future, as well as the management.”
The management had originally suggested paying 8 million won as a bonus over the next two years and changing the negotiation term from the current once a year to once every two years.
The two sides could not reach an agreement on changing the negotiation term.
The union had also asked for detailed plans for car production at the No. 2 Bupyeong factory as the current manufacturing models’ popularity are dwindling and are prone to being suspended.
“Considering the market demand, [GM Korea] will extend the production schedule of the currently manufacturing model at the No. 2 Bupyeong factory,” the statement from the union said, adding that the management also agreed to come up with an employment plan once the No. 2 factory’s operation plan changes in the future.
GM Korea and the labor union started negotiations in July and held 24 sessions to date. The union held a series of partial walkouts, which started on Oct. 30, disrupting the production of some 20,000 units at the Bupyeong plant.
As the union’s militant acts continued, Steve Kiefer, president of GM’s international operations, warned that the automaker could eventually exit the market.
The tentative deal will be put to a vote by the union.
BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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