Workers at Hyundai Motor Co. accepted a wage deal today that will end months of negotiation that saw several periods of work stoppage and strikes by the employees of South Korea’s automaker.
The approved wage plan calls for a 5.61 percent rise in base salary, a one-off payment of 4 million won ($3,456) and a 2008 bonus of 300 percent of monthly salary for each employee. The deal couldn’t have come a moment too soon, as the work stoppages and negotiation periods had resulted in several lost working hours for the company and a significant dip in overall productivity.
The union reported on its Web site that 54.5 percent of the members who participated in a vote had approved this year’s contract. Of 45,089 union members, 94.7 of them percent voted on the new contracts.
Hyundai employees had vetoed a previous agreement that promised the same salary but only offered 3 million won in one-off payments. The company and the union also agreed to take a reduction of total working hours to 17 hours a day from 20 hours from 2009, but to keep production volumes steady and consistent.
Now that the company is able to move forward again with its full work force under the new contract, Hyundai dealer outlets should spring to life again with the results of the hard-working employees of one of the biggest and finest automobile companies in the world.