Cutting Working Hours

Hyundai Motor has decided not to exceed a maximum of 52 working hours a week
Hyundai Motor has decided not to exceed a maximum of 52 working hours a week

 

Hyundai Motor Co. has asked its manufacturing plants to come up with measures not to exceed a maximum of 52 working hours a week by the end of this month, aligning the government’s plan to shorten working hours. An expert of the relations between labor and management said, “Considering Hyundai Motor’s influence on the industry as a whole, an increasing number of companies will reduce their working hours.”

According to industry sources on November 6, Hyundai Motor sent out a document titled “counterplans for 52-hour weekly working hour limit legalization” to all the managers at the Ulsan plant in the middle of October, two months after the Environment and Labor Committee of the National Assembly decided to reduce working hours in three stages in August. The document was sent out because the company believe that it is necessary to shorten working hours in order to apply the Moon Jae-in government’s plan to introduce a maximum of 52 working hours a week.

Hyundai Motor studied the working conditions of its plants across the country, such as Ulsan, Jeonju and Asan, in the past July and said in the document, “Under the current working patterns, there is no problem with working overtime on Saturdays but working hours exceed 52 hours a week when working on Sundays.”

After receiving the document, managers are seeking to come up with counterplans. An official from Hyundai Motor said, “We are considering various ways to reduce working hours of engineers to limit 52 hours a week. Nothing has been decided yet.” Hyundai Motor is planning to report the measures to management on the second week of November after gathering plans and progresses at its plants until the 3rd. The document also said each progress will be reported to management every week.

Experts point out that the company’s latest move will dramatically change working conditions in the industry as a whole. Lee Sang-hyuk, a certified labor attorney at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said, “When Hyundai Motor seeks its ways to reduce working hours, it can spread across the industry. The government’s “52 hours a week plan” as part of its efforts to shorten working hours can gather momentum.”

In this regard, labor unions and business communities show a mixed reaction. Hyundai Motor’s labor union welcomes the measures to curtail working hours. An official from Korean Metal Workers' Union Hyundai Motor Branch said, “Currently, 3 percent out of 50,000 Hyundai Motor’s unionized workers work more than 52 hours a week. Some workers will see their wages drop because they cannot work overtime. However, it is meaningful in that the quality of their lives will be improved as well as the working conditions in the industry as a whole.”

In contrast, the business community express concerns that less working hours can adversely affect the auto industry. An official from the Korea Employers Federation said, “When suddenly shortening working hours, conglomerates like Hyundai Motor will have no problem. However, small and medium-sized companies will stumble. The system should be introduced gradually.”

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