Automakers

Hyundai union says it will restart talks with management

HYUNDAI
R
By:
Reuters
August 30, 2023 10:01 AM

SEOUL -- Hyundai Motor's unionised workers will resume labour talks with the company's management after negotiations had stalled earlier this month, the union said.

On Monday, the 44,000-strong union won permission to go on strike from a government organisation that handles labour disputes, raising the probability of the company's first wage-related industrial action in five years.

Union members unanimously voted to restart negotiations after a company request, the union said in a statement, adding that talks will resume on Thursday.

However, the union said unionised workers would skip extra shifts from Sept. 4, while negotiations were underway.

In a fast-ageing society, South Korean labour unions including one at Hyundai, the country's top automaker, are battling company managements to press an unusual demand: raise the age of retirement to give workers a few more wage-earning years to make up for slim pensions.

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