Hyundai workers have voted to hold a four-day partial strike over pay, according to Reuters.
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Unionised workers stopped work for two hours today, Monday, and plan to stop for two hours on Tuesday and Wednesday and four hours on Thursday.
The union has asked for a 9.2% increase in basic salary and incentive payments. Last year they accepted 6.9%.
Hyundai management has not yet made an offer to the union. The management is currently lacking leadership with its chairman detained on corruption charges, and has told Reuters that it will make its offer once the chairman returns. Chairman Chung Mong-koo has been refused bail and is due to appear in court again on 10 July.
Hyundai has been dogged by poor labour relations and each year faces tough wage negotiations with the country’s most powerful union, according to Reuters. It has been hit by strikes in 17 of the past 18 years.
A Hyundai spokesman said that the union’s four-day labour action was estimated to cost 100.3bn won ($US104.6m), or 7,389 vehicles in lost output. Strike action associated with wage negotiations last year cost the company 591bn won in lost production.
