Hyundai Motor Company labor talks conclude with "400% performance bonus plus 12.7 million won"

[Financial News] Hyundai Motor Company management and labor, after months of friction over this year's wage negotiations, have reached an agreement.
The Hyundai Motor Branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union said on the 1st that the tentative agreement passed after a majority of members voted in favor in a ratification vote held on the 31st of last month.
Of the company's 39,638 union members, 31,166 cast ballots, for a turnout of 78.63%. Of those, 19,183 members, or 61.55%, voted in favor, while 11,914, or 38.23%, voted against. There were 69 invalid ballots, or 0.22%.
The key point of the agreement is wages. Monthly base pay will rise by 100,000 won, including regular seniority increases, and the performance bonus will be paid at 400% plus 12.7 million won. In addition, the package includes 15 shares of stock, 500,000 won in welfare points, and an extra 200,000 won in summer vacation pay.
The deal also includes several notable terms beyond wages. The two sides agreed to hire 500 technical workers, or production workers, from the second half of next year through 2028. They also agreed to extend the retirement age, provided relevant laws are changed, without expanding the wage peak system. In addition, the company will withdraw all damage claims and asset seizures it had filed against the union.
The two sides first sat down at the bargaining table on May 6. After 111 days, they reached a tentative agreement on the 25th of last month, and the deal was finalized six days later on the 31st after passing the union vote.
The negotiations were far from smooth. Talks dragged on as management and labor failed to narrow their differences over the size of the bonus increase, reinstatement of dismissed union members, and the retirement age. The union also resorted to strike action this year, following last year. For the first time since 2016, it staged a full-scale eight-hour strike, bringing cumulative strike time per member to 60 hours. Because day and night shifts joined sequentially, the actual time the production line was halted was twice that, at 120 hours.
Industry estimates put the resulting production disruption at about 55,200 vehicles, while lost sales are estimated to have exceeded 2.3 trillion won.
Hyundai Motor Company said, "We will join forces in the second half to deliver the highest level of quality and repay customers for their support."
[email protected] Kim Dong-chan Reporter