First formal session since tentative deal's rejection ends in walkout

Management says no new offer on the table; union to escalate action

Pre-shift rallies at Pohang, Gwangyang plants set for Thursday and Friday

Indefinite demonstrations to begin Monday; rally planned at Posco Center in Seoul

The main gate of Posco's Pohang steelworks, Sept. 9 [Yonhap]
The main gate of Posco's Pohang steelworks, Sept. 9 [Yonhap]

Posco's management and union failed to narrow their differences Wednesday in the first formal wage negotiation since members voted down a tentative agreement, with the session ending after just 22 minutes when the union walked out following management's refusal to put a new offer on the table. The union immediately announced plans to escalate its campaign, including a rally at Posco Center in Seoul on Tuesday.

The two sides met Wednesday morning in Gwangyang for the first full bargaining session since the tentative agreement was rejected in a membership vote on Saturday.

The talks broke off after only 22 minutes. After opening remarks from both sides, the union delegation walked out midway through an exchange over the direction of future negotiations, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The central sticking point was whether management would table a new proposal. Management said its pre-agreement offer was final and that it could not present additional terms simply because the tentative deal had been rejected.

Management did signal, however, that if the union launched a strike and production disruptions resulted, it would be willing to revisit its overall package — including the previously offered improvements to working conditions.

In response, the union decided to shift its focus from the bargaining table to workplace action for now. Immediately after the session, it issued Dispute Countermeasures Committee Directive No. 13, declaring it would "immediately take the fight to Seoul and make the anger on the shop floor heard."

As a first step, union officers and delegates will hold pre-shift rallies at the Pohang and Gwangyang steelworks on Thursday and Friday.

Starting Monday, the union will broaden the action to all members, holding indefinite after-work demonstrations at both plants on weekdays.

On Tuesday, members will gather for a rally at Posco Center as part of the Seoul mobilization.

The new directive does not include a partial strike that would directly halt production lines. The union appears to be ratcheting up pressure through pre- and post-shift rallies and the Seoul rally before deciding on further escalation depending on how negotiations develop.

Earlier, the union had resumed dispute activities immediately after the tentative deal was rejected, refusing overtime, holiday work and emergency service call-outs. In September, it staged the company's first-ever partial strike targeting production lines — a 48-hour walkout followed by a second partial strike lasting 120 hours.

Management and the union reached the tentative agreement on Oct. 30 after roughly 140 days of negotiations. The package included a 2.6 percent basic wage increase, a one-time payment of 6 million won ($4,470) and a special promotion of three pay grades. It was rejected on Saturday, with 4,433 votes in favor (48.31 percent) and 4,744 against (51.69 percent).

Management had tabled six successive proposals during negotiations, gradually raising the basic wage increase and lump-sum payment at each round. The union, for its part, maintains that because the tentative deal failed to win majority support, management must come back with a new offer that reflects what workers are actually demanding.


kwater@heraldcorp.com