A strike by temporary workers seeking better wages and job security has crippled production at South Korea's second largest carmaker Kia Motors, officials said Monday. About 400 workers from Kia's subcontractors have occupied the company's main plant at Hwaseong, 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Seoul, for five days since Thursday.
They have demanded higher wages, job security and equal working conditions with full-time workers, a Kia spokesman said. "The work stoppage is illegal because Kia is not their official employer," he told AFP, estimating lost production at 3,200 vehicles worth 43 billion won (45 million dollars).
The walkout began after Kia's union on August 16 accepted a 5.2 percent rise in monthly basic salary, ending six weeks of partial strikes that cost more than 360 billion won.
Kia is an affiliate of Hyundai Motor, South Korea's biggest automaker. The Hyundai Automotive Group linking the two companies is the world's sixth largest. Separately, Hyundai's 44,000-strong union is moving closer to a strike after talks between management and union leaders broke down.
Hyundai workers will vote Thursday on whether to strike. They have demanded the company accept an 8.9 percent pay increase, extend the retirement age from 58 to 60 and stop moves to allocate work to overseas plants. Strikes have become almost an annual event at Hyundai since its union was launched in 1987 in the wake of a pro-democracy popular uprising.