"30% of Net Profit as Bonus"... Hyundai Motor Union Nears Strike Over 'Record-Breaking Demands'

The Hyundai Motor labor union has secured the legal right to strike after failing to reach an agreement with the company during this year's wage negotiations.

The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) held a mediation meeting between Hyundai Motor's labor and management today and decided to suspend mediation.

The NLRC explained, "We held two mediation meetings to support discussions between labor and management, but we determined that it was difficult to present a mediation proposal due to the significant gap in the positions of both parties."

The union had held 11 rounds of negotiations with the company since their first meeting on May 6, but they were unable to narrow their differences.

The union announced that it had already conducted a strike vote among all members yesterday, which passed with 92.03% of voters and 86.65% of the total membership in favor.

With the NLRC's decision to suspend mediation, the union has now obtained the legal right to strike.

The union is demanding a base salary increase of 149,600 won, an 800% bonus, and performance-based incentives amounting to 30% of last year's net profit.

Other demands include the introduction of a 4.5-day workweek and the extension of the retirement age in line with the national pension eligibility age.

Following the decision to suspend mediation, the union is now legally permitted to engage in various forms of industrial action, including full or partial strikes, as well as refusals to work overtime or on weekends.

The union plans to form a Central Dispute Countermeasure Committee soon to discuss the schedule and intensity of future protests.

While the union is expected to use its strike mandate as a bargaining chip to continue further negotiations with the company, the prevailing view is that the demand for "30% of net profit as a bonus" is difficult for the company to accept.

If the negotiations between labor and management are prolonged and lead to an actual strike, production disruptions are expected to be inevitable.

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Ahn Jun-hyeok | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.