Workers at Kia Motors in South Korea this week voted in favour of strike action after wage negotiations with the company broke down.
They voted 72% in favour of industrial action if their union failed to reach an agreement with management over worker compensation. They were demanding a KRW155,000 (US$139) increase in the basic monthly wage and also combined bonuses amounting to 30% of the company's full year 2016 operating profits, according to local reports.
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With GM Korea workers having also voted in favour of strike action over wages in the previous week, the South Korean auto industry could be in for a summer of disruption. At GM, workers were demanding a similar rise in the monthly basic wage and annual bonuses equivalent to 500% of the basic wage.
The calls for industrial action came as the overall domestic vehicle market declined by 4% in the first half of the year from record volumes in 2016.
Hyundai and Kia sales also fell in China, a key export market, by over 60% year on year in recent months as South Korean corporations continued to pay the price of the fallout between the two countries over the deployment of the THAAD missile shield.
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