South Korea’s notoriously prickly car industry annual wage negotiations could be tougher than usual this year as workers fight to have fixed bonuses counted as part of their basic pay, in line with a ruling by the country’s supreme court last year.
On Wednesday, GM Korea’s workers voted by 69% to strike for the fourth year in a row unless an agreement to change the wage scheme – in place since 1953 – can be reached.
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Combining fixed bonuses with basic pay would increase overtime and severance payments which are calculated from basic wages.
The 14,000 workers at GM Korea also want the company to increase production to take up the slack from the decision to pull the Chevrolet brand out of Europe from the end of next year. GM Korea produced nearly all the Chevrolets sold in Western Europe and four out of 10 Chevrolets sold worldwide.
Last week, workers at Renault’s South Korea division, where wage negotiations continue, also voted in favour of a strike while talks at Hyundai are expected to continue into August.
