Renault Samsung Workers Stage Partial Walkout

BUSAN, Mar. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Renault Samsung Motors Corp.’s union announced that it would stage strikes at designated work sites starting on Wednesday.

The union halted the assembly line for the 11 a.m. morning shifts. Due to the stoppage, the whole production line was cut off, resulting in no vehicle delivery until 3 p.m.

The union plans to go on strike again at 7:45 in the afternoon, with an assembly line at the Renault Samsung’s Busan factory stopped for 8 hours.

Other workers, who did not go on strike, spent their work hours cleaning and underwent training.

A partial walkout is a way for the union to strike by designating workers or work processes.

Under the characteristics of the automobile production line, if one process stops, the remaining processes cannot be completed properly, and an overall production disruption is inevitable.

The reason why the union has launched a designated strike is because it can reduce wage losses by minimizing the number of union members participating in the strike, while maintaining the effect of a complete work stoppage.

If the strike continues in the future, labor disputes are expected to be prolonged without reaching a settlement.

Renault Samsung’s management and labor union have not even set a deadline for future negotiations since intensive negotiations broke down on March 8.

In the process, the union announced a three-day partial strike in all departments on March 11, followed by a partial walkout from that day to Friday.

Renault Samsung has not shown any change in its stance on labor union requirements, including a labor-management agreement on the transition, hiring 200 new employees and easing the intensity of work per hour, issues which were raised during negotiations.

Amid protracted labor disputes at Renault Samsung, Renault S.A. has decided to change its South Korean unit from its previous Asia-Pacific Region business headquarters to Africa-Middle East-India-Pacific regional headquarters starting on April 1.

Renault has an 80 percent stake in Renault Samsung.

As the regional headquarters of Renault Samsung is expanding to Africa, the Middle East and India, there is an opportunity to diversify export areas for Renault Samsung cars.

Thus, the company hopes for successful negotiations with the union in order to guarantee sustained growth.

Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)