Trouble in the Union
The Kia Motors trade union decided to exclude non-regular employees. It took a vote on the issue on April 27 and 28, approximately 26,700 union members participated in the voting out of about 29,000 regular workers and about 2,800 non-regular workers, and 19,150 voted for the exclusion.
The trade union that is made up of the permanent employees combined itself with that of the temporary workers 10 years ago and the single trade union was maintained until recently for the sake of solidarity. However, discord between the regular and non-regular workers continued to exist during the period as well.
The result of the recent voting has to do with the lawsuit previously filed by temporary employees working for Kia Motors and Hyundai Motor Company. The court ruled that the dispatch of the employees was unlawful and they should be given a permanent position. Then, the non-regular workers claimed that the position should be given to approximately 4,000, including non-union members, in accordance with the ruling. The Kia Motors trade union, however, agreed with the management in November last year to give the position to only 1,049. This agreement was followed by a strike by the non-regular employees.
The Korean Metal Workers’ Union, to which the Kia Motors trade union belongs, announced that it is opposed to the exclusion because it affects workers’ solidarity and the other businesses where regular and non-regular workers constitute single unions.