Hyundai Motor labor and management move toward a 'dramatic breakthrough'... Partial strike on the 24th temporarily put on hold

[Financial News] As Hyundai Motor Company labor and management resumed wage negotiations for this year, the union's planned partial strike has been temporarily suspended. With the union, which had taken a hard-line approach including its first full strike in 10 years, now returning to the table, the auto industry is watching closely to see whether the two sides can find a path to a dramatic agreement.
According to the industry on the 23rd, Hyundai Motor Company and the union agreed to hold the 17th round of talks at the Ulsan Plant on the 24th.
With negotiations resuming, the Hyundai Motor Branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union canceled the strike scheduled for the 24th out of the two four-hour partial strikes planned for the 24th and 25th. Whether the strike planned for the 25th will proceed is expected to be decided after the talks on the 24th.
Although the two sides have finally returned to the negotiating table, it remains unclear whether they can narrow their differences. They are still locked in a tense standoff over key issues. The main points of contention include the size of this year's wage increase, a 50% bonus hike, reinstatement of union members dismissed for illegal acts during past union activities, and extending the retirement age.
Earlier, after negotiations stalled following the first labor-management meeting on May 6, the union staged repeated partial strikes lasting two to six hours. In particular, it launched its first full-day strike in 10 years on the 21st, putting strong pressure on management.
The industry is closely watching the economic losses caused by the continued strikes. So far, the union's cumulative strike time has reached 60 hours. Considering that both the first and second shifts of technical workers, or production workers, took part in the strikes, the actual shutdown time for production lines has reached 120 hours.
The industry estimates that the series of strikes has caused Hyundai Motor Company to lose production of about 55,200 vehicles. As the scale of the disruption continues to grow, the resumed talks on the 24th are expected to become the biggest turning point in this year's wage and collective bargaining negotiations.
[email protected] Kim Dong-ho Reporter