This file photo provided by GM Korea Co.’s labor union shows workers staging a protest against the company’s management. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) — An ongoing labor dispute at GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., has escalated as the union secured the legal right to strike following a breakdown in wage negotiations, sources said Monday, fueling concerns that the American auto giant may scale back its production in South Korea amid the threat of U.S. auto tariffs.
According to the sources, the National Labor Relations Commission earlier in the day suspended its mediation of wage negotiations between GM Korea’s management and the union, citing deep differences in the positions between the two sides.
The suspension legally allows the union to begin collective action, intensifying a standoff already marked by widespread worker opposition to the company’s plan to sell GM’s South Korean service centers nationwide and unutilized facilities at its plant in Bupyeong in Incheon, west of Seoul.
The union has demanded the withdrawal of the asset sale plan as a precondition for the wage negotiations.
In a vote carried out last month, 88.2 percent of GM Korea’s 6,851 union members voted in favor of a walkout, the highest approval rate for a strike in the union’s history.
The dispute comes amid mounting anxiety over the possibility that GM could reduce or eliminate its South Korean manufacturing footprint if the United States maintains its 25 percent tariffs on auto imports, part of a policy pledge of U.S. President Donald Trump during his reelection campaign.
GM Korea exports approximately 410,000 vehicles annually, with about 85 percent of those shipments headed to the U.S.
On the wage front, the union is demanding a monthly base salary increase of 141,300 won (US$103) and a performance-based bonus of 41.36 million won per worker.
In contrast, GM Korea’s management has defended its restructuring plan, informing employees of its intent to gradually sell the company’s service centers and dispose of low-utilization facilities.
The company says customer support will continue via its 386 partner service centers in the country and that employees at the affected sites will retain their jobs.
A union spokesperson said unless the company withdraws its sale plans, labor will hold internal discussions to raise the intensity of its actions, adding, “We are keeping all options open.”
(Yonhap)
