No Strikes for the 3rd Year
Renault Samsung announced on August 30 that the labor and management have reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement for three consecutive years without a dispute.
Details of the agreement were an increase of 62,400 won (US$59) in the basic salary of 2017; a performance-based bonus of 4 million won (US$3,600); 50,000 won (US$45) in compensation for each member of the employee stock ownership program; 1,500,000 won (US$1,350) in compensation per employee for the dispute-free collective bargaining agreement; a 150% productivity-based incentive, a 50% bonus for reaching business goals and an increase of 10,000 won (US$9) in line allowance by grade.
The labor and management have been negotiating wages since May through ten working-level negotiations and eight main negotiations.
Although concern was voiced as the labor and union failed to iron out differences in opinions, as shown in unionists’ voting in favor of going on a strike on August 11, the agreement was reached as the management came up with a revised proposal.
"This agreement is quite meaningful in that a corporate culture took root that the labor and management will cooperate with each other both in good and bad times while maintaining the company’s competitiveness based on trust between the two sides," a Renault Samsung official said. "We brought off a collective bargaining agreement for three consecutive years without any disputes. This is meaningful as an exemplary case for the Korean automobile industry."