▲ This undated file photo shows workers leaving Hyundai Motor Co.'s factory in Ulsan, about 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)

Hyundai Motor-wage talks

Hyundai Motor union votes in favor of strike plan

ULSAN, June 24 (Yonhap) -- Unionized workers of Hyundai Motor Co. on Wednesday voted in favor of a strike plan amid stalled wage talks in a move that could lead to a potential walkout at the company for the second consecutive year.

In a vote, 86.65 percent of the union's 39,668 members approved the strike plan, with 94.15 percent of the members casting ballots, according to the union.

The approval gives the union the right to stage a legal walkout in the event the state labor relations committee decides to suspend mediation between labor and management in the negotiations.

The committee is expected to make a decision on whether to suspend mediation Thursday.

The union and management have held 11 rounds of wage talks since May, but they have yet to narrow their differences over the union's demands.

The union is demanding a 149,600-won (US$96.70) increase in the monthly base pay per worker and 30 percent of Hyundai's net profit logged last year for performance-based pay.

It is also calling for bonuses to be increased from 750 percent to 800 percent, raising the retirement age to at most 65 and better job security amid concerns over advanced robotics technology.

The management is said to have pushed back against the demands, citing the company's operating profit last year, which fell 19.5 percent from the previous year to 11.46 trillion won.

The union staged partial strikes last year for the first time in seven years before reaching an agreement.

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