[THE INVESTOR] Labor disputes are spreading across South Korean industries with Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Heavy’s unions striking on July 19, while other major unions are taking steps to follow suit.

The unions of Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Heavy Industries on July 19 staged a partial strike, collaborating in industrial dispute for the first time in 23 years.

Hyundai Motor’s union is demanding a 7.2 percent raise and 30 percent of 2015 net profits as bonus of employees, among other conditions. Hyundai Heavy union, for its part, hopes to resist the company’s restructuring plans. In addition to Hyundai Heavy, other unions of South Korea’s ailing shipbuilding industry also staged rallies and partial strikes. 



The hardline umbrella union Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ Korean Metal Workers’ Union is set to fan the flames with a mass strike on July 22.

Claiming that the suggestions made by local companies in this year’s negotiations are “evil,” the Metal Workers’ Union plans to rally in Seoul, stage partial strikes across the nation on July 22 and refuse overtime on July 23.

Meanwhile, the Korean Financial Industry Union put strike plans to a vote on July 19, with the union expecting an “overwhelming” support.

The union is trying to resist banks’ plans for a new salary system. One of the main sticking points is that the new system could lead to as much as 40 percent difference in the salaries of workers on the same pay grade, depending on their performance.

If approved as expected by the union, a nationwide strike will be staged in September.

In addition, labor groups for logistics workers, civil servants, teachers and medical workers also announced a mass strike from Sept. 27.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)