Labor commission ends mediation without agreement, clearing path for legal industrial action; 92% of members voted in favor

Outside the first mediation chamber of the National Labor Relations Commission at the Government Sejong Complex on Thursday. The commission ruled that mediation in wage negotiations between Hyundai Motor and its union had broken down. [Photo by Kim Yong-hun]
Outside the first mediation chamber of the National Labor Relations Commission at the Government Sejong Complex on Thursday. The commission ruled that mediation in wage negotiations between Hyundai Motor and its union had broken down. [Photo by Kim Yong-hun]

The Hyundai Motor union has completed mediation proceedings before the National Labor Relations Commission and secured the legal right to strike.

Wage negotiations between the company and its union have entered a full-scale standoff, with the union demanding a base pay increase, a performance bonus equal to 30% of the previous year's net profit, and an extension of the mandatory retirement age to 65.

The National Labor Relations Commission held a second mediation session Thursday at the Government Sejong Complex over the Hyundai Motor labor dispute but announced that mediation had failed. As a result, the Hyundai Motor chapter of the Korean Metal Workers' Union obtained the legal right to take industrial action.

Hyundai Motor and its union held 11 rounds of collective bargaining between May 6 and June 12 to reach a wage agreement this year but failed to narrow their differences. The union then filed for labor dispute mediation with the commission on June 15.

The commission held two mediation sessions — on June 19 and again Thursday — to support talks between the two sides. It concluded that the gap between their positions was too wide to propose a settlement and closed mediation without putting forward a separate proposal.

The union is demanding a base pay increase of 149,600 won ($97) and a performance bonus equivalent to 30% of the previous year's net profit, among other items. The company has maintained that last year's business results, the broader operating environment and future investment costs must all be taken into account.

The 30% net profit bonus the union is seeking would amount to roughly 3 trillion won based on last year's earnings. However, the union made the same demand in last year's wage talks, and the two sides ultimately agreed on an average performance bonus of about 38 million won per worker.


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