(Reuters) – Automaker Kia Corp and its South Korean labour union have reached a tentative wage agreement, the union and company said, averting partial strikes that had been scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
The agreement reached on Tuesday will be put to a vote of union members on Friday, according to the union. Partial strikes scheduled for August 26-28 have now been withdrawn by the union following the agreement.
“We appreciate our employees for their dedication and our negotiating teams for their tireless efforts throughout this process, marking the sixth consecutive year the two sides have reached a tentative agreement without a strike,” Kia said in a statement on Wednesday.
Under the tentative agreement, Kia workers would receive a 100,000 won ($72.34) increase in monthly base pay and a performance-related incentive package worth 400% of monthly wages plus 12.7 million won, according to the union.
The union approved plans last week to stage partial strikes from Wednesday, but decided to withdraw the action after reaching the tentative agreement with management a day before the planned walkout.
The agreement came after Hyundai Motor’s South Korean union also reached a tentative wage deal with management on Tuesday, averting further production losses following its biggest strike action in a decade.
($1 = 1,382.4000 won)
Reporting by Bipasha Dey, Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Alex Richardson and Ed Davies
