Hyundai Motor Company labor union members hold a rally at the Ulsan Plant on June 30. [News 1] 사진 확대 Hyundai Motor Company labor union members hold a rally at the Ulsan Plant on June 30. [News 1]

As tensions between Hyundai Motor Company and its labor union over this year’s wage negotiations drag on, the union will launch a full-scale strike for the first time in 10 years.

According to industry sources on the 18th, the company and the union held their 16th round of talks at the Ulsan Plant on the 18th but failed to reach an agreement. They returned to the bargaining table 41 days after the 15th round on Aug. 8, but could not narrow their differences over key issues.

The Hyundai Motor Company labor union has decided to stage an additional five-day strike from the 19th to pressure management. It will carry out four-hour partial strikes each day on the 19th and 20th, followed by an eight-hour full strike on the 21st. The union will then continue with four-hour strikes on the 24th and 25th.

In particular, the full strike on the 21st will be the first full-scale walkout by the Hyundai Motor Company labor union in 10 years, since its 2016 collective bargaining. On that day, the union plans to stage a protest at Hyundai Motor Group headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, led by its executives.

Earlier, since wage talks began this year, the union had carried out intermittent partial strikes through the 14th of this month. The total strike time so far has reached 44 hours.

[Yonhap News Agency] 사진 확대 [Yonhap News Agency]

The main issues on which the two sides remain at odds in this year’s negotiations are higher bonuses, reinstating union members dismissed for illegal acts during past union activities, and extending the retirement age.

The company says these issues are not part of this year’s wage negotiations. It argues that there is no basis for reinstating union members dismissed for illegal acts, and that an extension of the retirement age should only be discussed after lawmakers revise the relevant law, making it difficult for the two sides to decide the timing on their own.

The union, however, insists that these issues can no longer be postponed. It says the long-standing disputes must be resolved this year in some form to maintain trust between labor and management.

At the talks that day, the company proposed discussing reinstatement for dismissed workers at the end of the year and, if the law is revised, deciding the timing of a retirement-age extension through a supplementary agreement.

The union rejected the proposal. It said the company’s offer was merely a showy gesture rather than a real solution.

“We resumed negotiations that had been deadlocked for a long time, but the company’s proposal remains insufficient,” the union said. “We will continue efforts to find common ground while pressuring management through strikes.”

This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.