The Hyundai Steel Branch of the Korea Metal Workers' Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Pohang Branch of the Metal Workers' Union (Photo = Yonhap news)

 

 

[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] The Hyundai Steel labor union began a partial strike on Tuesday at 7 a.m., halting operations at the cold rolling plant in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, for 24 hours.

All union members, excluding on-site workers, withdrew from the site, while essential agreement workers only performed mandatory maintenance tasks. From 7 a.m. on January 22, union leaders plan to continue a 24-hour strike.

Due to the partial strike, some of Hyundai Steel’s production lines were temporarily suspended. The company announced through a regulatory filing that production at its Incheon, Pohang, and Suncheon plants had been temporarily halted due to the union strike.

The Incheon and Pohang plants suspended operations for 24 hours starting from 7 a.m. on January 21. The Suncheon plant halted production for a total of 16 hours from January 21 to January 23. The cold rolling production line at the Dangjin plant also ceased operations for 24 hours starting at 7 a.m. on January 21.

The union is demanding a base salary increase of 159,800 KRW (excluding annual salary increases), improved vehicle loan terms, and the payment of record-high performance bonuses.

The 19th round of negotiations is scheduled for January 23. If talks break down, the union plans to hold a general strike on February 11 in Yangjae-dong. Additionally, the union will continue protests at Hyundai Motorstudio locations in Hannam-dong, Seoul, and Goyang.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Steel is considering building a steel plant in the United States. This facility would likely produce automotive steel sheets to supply Hyundai Motor and Kia plants in the region. Currently, automotive steel sheets are produced at domestic plants in Dangjin and Suncheon and then transported to U.S. factories for vehicle manufacturing.

 

 

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