SEOUL - Workers at the South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor have voted to approve strike action after wage talks stalled, as employees in multiple sectors press for better labour conditions.
Employees at the country’s largest carmaker are demanding a bumper performance bonus of 30% of corporate profits, an extension of the retirement age to 65 and a pay hike as the rise of artificial intelligence fuels concerns over job security.
Talks between workers and management have continued since May without yielding an agreement, according to the Yonhap news agency.
The Hyundai branch of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union said on Wednesday that 86% of its nearly 40,000 members had approved strikes to achieve their goals.
The union said it would decide its next steps after a mediation session with the country’s labour relations commission on Thursday.
Its members are demanding a performance bonus equivalent to 30% of last year’s net profit, and an extension of the retirement age to 65 at most.
They also want an increase of 150,000 won ($97) in base monthly pay.
Production workers at Hyundai Motor earn an average monthly base pay of between 7.5 million and 8.3 million won ($4,850 to $5,365)
Hyundai posted a profit decline in the first quarter despite logging record-high revenue.
More broadly, the global AI boom has been favouring South Korean technology giants and pushed the country’s stock market to record highs.
It has come as workers push for higher payouts, with Samsung Electronics recently averting a strike by agreeing on a deal to distribute bonuses equivalent to 10.5% of operating profit to employees of its semiconductor division. Industry analysts said the payouts work out to as much as $370,000 (12.4 million baht) per head.
Workers in sectors ranging from biotechnology to shipbuilding have also been demanding a larger share of corporate profits through bonuses.
