Possibility of a Strike Looming Large
The GM Korea labor union announced on Aug. 17 that 83 percent of its members voted in favor of a strike.
The union held a strike vote for two days from Aug. 16. Of the union's 7,622 members, 6,797 (89.2 percent turnout) cast ballots, with 6,329 of them voting for a strike. Those who voted for a strike accounted for 83.0 percent of the total number of eligible voters.
The labor union is planning to hold additional negotiations with the management, but if no progress is made, it will file an application for arbitration with the Central Labor Relations Commission. If the arbitration process fails, the commission will either suspend its arbitration efforts or decide to offer administrative guidance.
If the commission decides to suspend arbitration, the labor union will have the right to strike legally, as the unionists have already voted for a strike.
The labor union held 11 rounds of negotiations with the management from June 23 to Aug. 17, but the two sides failed to iron out their differences.
The labor union is demanding a flat rate increase of 142,300 won per month and 400 percent (equivalent to 16.94 million won) of the ordinary wage as a performance-based bonus from the management. In addition, they are demanding a development plan tailored to each plant and more on welfare benefits and allowances and non-regular workers. In particular, in reference to Bupyeong Plant 2, which will be shut down after November, the labor union is insisting that the management covert the plant to a production base for electric vehicles.
However, the management has clarified its position that it is difficult to accept all the demands of the labor union in a situation where it has suffered a deficit since 2014. In addition, it seems difficult to coordinate the positions of the labor and management regarding the promotion of electric vehicle production which the labor union wants. Currently, Bupyeong 2 Plant is rolling out the Trax and the Malibu but it will be shut down at the end of this year. The labor union is demanding that the management change Bupyeong 2 Plant into an electric vehicle production base.