The South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City is moving to establish a public-private task force — bringing together labor and economic experts — to chart a path forward for Gwangju Global Motors (GGM) after a prolonged labor-management dispute.
Yoon Nan-sil, the city's deputy mayor for civic sovereignty, announced the plan at a press conference at the Gwangju city hall Thursday, saying the city would form a "GGM shared-growth and future strategy task force" and prepare a second Gwangju-type jobs agreement.
Yoon will lead the task force, which will include economic officials from the integrated city along with experts in labor, industry and management. The city's labor, housing, fiscal and legal departments will provide operational support.
The task force will consult with GGM management, Hyundai Motor Company and the labor union to develop measures covering public support, production and employment expansion, and management improvement.
GGM's labor and management sides reached a tentative collective agreement Wednesday, accepting a mediation recommendation from the South Jeolla-Gwangju city government. The agreement covers 2,700 hours of paid union activity leave, the provision of a union office, and the payment of various allowances and a shared-growth fund.
The city's labor-management-civil-government council special mediation committee had put forward the recommendation Monday to help resolve the GGM dispute.
Yoon said the city would first pursue short-term measures to improve living conditions for workers — including rental housing acquired through the Korea Land and Housing Corporation — and would also review options for supplying public rental housing and securing funding for workers at the Bitgreen Industrial Complex.
Yoon added that the city would "strengthen its strategic partnership with Hyundai Motor Company to closely discuss stable production volumes, contract duration, allocation of follow-on vehicle models, and conditions for a shift to a two-shift system," and said the city would build "a management framework trusted by both shareholders and workers."
"This tentative labor-management agreement has shown that GGM's labor relations can be resolved through dialogue and cooperation," Yoon said. "We must turn that possibility into lasting trust through the remaining procedures and the faithful implementation of the agreement."
sij@heraldcorp.com
