The Kia Labor Union has pulled out the overtime refusal card. The move comes as negotiations over this year’s wages and collective agreements with the company have hit a snag.
According to industry sources on Sept. 18, the Kia Union has decided to halt overtime production negotiations at three main factories starting from Oct. 1.
If the company seeks a breakdown, the Kia Union’s stance is to break through with a strong struggle. They have already secured the legal right to strike. Over 90% of the union members who participated in the strike vote on Sept. 8 voted in favor. The Kia Union will hold an emergency resolution meeting of the branch and five regional executive committees today to discuss future response measures.
The reason for the Kia Union’s move to refuse overtime and prepare for a strike is due to the difficulties in this year’s wage and collective agreement negotiations. On Sept. 14, the 10th main negotiation for this year’s wages and collective agreements took place at the Kia Gwangmyeong Plant, but ended only 10 minutes after it began. Hong Jin-sung, the head of the Kia Union branch, is known to have torn up the company’s proposal and walked out of the negotiation.
This year, the Kia Union has proposed a basic salary increase of 184,900 won (excluding the seniority raise), a 30% bonus from last year’s operating profit, extension of the retirement age, and additional recruitment.
The union’s position is not to stop fighting until they achieve all of their demands for this year. The Kia Union stressed through their newsletter, “As Kia achieves its highest performance ever, no further concessions and sacrifices can be made. The union will not stop fighting until the day we win.”