Unionists to Vote on Wage Deal on April 14
The labor and management of Renault Samsung Motors have hammered out a provisional wage deal for 2019.
The two sides started the 2019 wage negotiations in September 2019 and have been at loggerheads for six months, repeating strikes and partial lockouts. However, the auto industry crisis caused by the new coronavirus outbreak has pushed the two sides towards a tentative agreement.
The labor and management reached a provisional agreement for 2019 at the 19th round of wage talks on April 10. The labor union is scheduled to hold a general meeting on April 14 to vote on the agreement.
In the tentative plan, instead of freezing basic salaries, the labor and management agreed on a total of 8.88 million won in compensation including a bonus of two million won and a 5 percent contribution allowance per month. The contribution allowance will ramp up an average annual wage by 1.2 million won, so personal pensions and retirement pensions increase with an average increase of 4.7 percent in hourly wages per hour.
However, the reorganization of the wage system, job grade adjustments, and line allowances among others over which the two sides were sharply divided will be discussed again in negotiations on the 2020 collective agreement. The tentative agreement will be finally decided through a general meeting of employees after a briefing on the deal for labor union members.
If the provisional agreement passes the general meeting on April, the labor and management of Renault Samsung will finally wrap up the 2019 wage negotiations which have repeatedly hit a snag. Renault Headquarters has decided to allocate volume of XM production on the premise of Renault Samsung’s stabilizing labor relations and making an improvement to productivity, so Renault Samsung is expected to secure stable production volume in the future.