POSCO Labor-Management Wage Negotiations Collapse, Raising Concerns Over First-Ever Strike

Collective bargaining negotiations between POSCO and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) Metal Workers' Federation POSCO Labor Union, the company's sole bargaining representative union, have broken down.

POSCO management and the labor union held their sixth round of negotiations today (July 23), following the first session on June 16, but failed to reach an agreement.

Consequently, both sides will enter mediation procedures with the National Labor Relations Commission.

The union has demanded a 7.1% increase in base pay, a bonus equivalent to 600% of base salary, 50 shares of employee stock, and a 200% holiday bonus. Meanwhile, management stated that accepting these demands would cost 1.4 trillion won, making them unacceptable given current business conditions, such as low-priced Chinese assaults, the expansion of global protectionism, and the triple hardship of high oil prices, high exchange rates, and high interest rates.

Instead, management proposed a 1.2% increase in base pay upon achieving this year's operating profit target, a 2.0 million won cash bonus, an expansion of individual awards, active special promotions, and improvements to housing loan criteria.

If labor and management fail to reach an agreement during the National Labor Relations Commission mediation, there is a possibility of the first strike since POSCO's founding in 1968.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.