Renault Samsung Motors union workers voted to go on strike in protest at the company's proposal to freeze wages next year.

The union said more than two-thirds of its 2,000 members at he Busan plant in South Korea voted to go on strike for an increase in basic pay and better working conditions.

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A wage deal for 2018 was struck last June but only after union members staged 62 rounds of strikes which resulted in production losses of over 14,000 vehicles. 

The French owned company's global vehicle sales fell by 18% to around 228,000 in 2018 and declined by a further 23% to 162,000 units in the first 10 months of 2019.

Renault Samsung was forced to cut output in October due to slowing demand and the discontinuation of an export order from Nissan Motor for the Rogue SUV.

In September the company offered its workers a voluntary retirement programme for the first time since 2012 but only a few dozen workers applied.

Renault-Samsung launched production of the Twizy small electric vehicle in October and hopes to secure European orders for the XM3 compact SUV from next year.

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