Kia Motors faces a partial strike from Thursday after wage talks with management failed, a workers’ union said on Wednesday.
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The union, representing 85% of the automaker’s local workers, is scheduled to halt work for four hours on Thursday and eight hours on Friday, the union said on its web site, according to Reuters.
Employees will also stop work for four hours on both 7 and 8 August and eight hours on 9 August, the report said, after production workers take their scheduled summer holiday.
“Management simply kept repeating that the company was facing difficulties,” the union reportedly said.
Kia’s 27,550-member union is seeking a 9.1% increase in salary and incentive payments, among other requests, a union official told Reuters. Kia’s management has not yet made any counter-offer on salary, a company spokesman told the news agency.
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By GlobalDataThe report added that Kia’s union and management are set to meet on Thursday.
Union workers previously held a partial strike for three days last week, costing the company an estimated 868 vehicles in lost output, Kia said.
According to Reuters, Hyundai Motor union members have stopped work for several hours almost every day since 26 June 26 as they demand higher salaries and incentives.
In addition, Ssangyong Motor workers held a five-day partial strike last week. They resumed production on Monday, but some workers not directly involved in production are still holding out, a company official told Reuters.
On the other hand, GM Daewoo Auto & Technology has agreed a tentative wage deal with its union, including a 3.98% rise in basic salary, the report said.
