Hyundai Motor Co's union is set to forgo a strike for the first time in 15 years with its approval of a wage deal with management, company and union officials said Thursday. Under the plan, next year's wages for union workers at South Korea's largest automaker are to remain frozen for the first time in the company's history in exchange for bonuses worth roughly 15 million won (12,700 dollars) each.
The bonus, the largest the union has ever seen, consists of a sum of 6 million won, which is three times the monthly salary, plus an incentive payment of 5 million won and 40 company shares worth around 4.5 million won. Of the union's 45,000-strong membership, 94 per cent participated in the vote Wednesday with 62 per cent supporting the wage freeze and 37 per cent opposed, the union said.
The plan was finalised after seven months of negotiations late Monday at the company's main plant in Ulsan, 400 kilometres south of Seoul. The decision marked a departure from the union's reputation for militant strikes. Since its establishment in 1987, the Hyundai Motor union has held a strike every year except for 1994, halting production lines and bringing cumulative losses of 11.7 trillion won to the company.