Kia Motors management, union to resume wage talks

SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Yonhap) -- Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, said
Friday it will resume negotiations with its union later in the day to narrow
their differences over pay raises and other issues.

Unionized workers, after a week-long summer leave, launched a strike on Tuesday
to demand higher wages and better working conditions, saying Kia workers may lay
down their tools for four hours every day through Aug. 31 if their demands are
not met.
Both sides have held a series of wage negotiations since May, but failed to
narrow their differences. Their latest meeting was held on July 27.
Kia Motors said the ongoing strike could cost up to 1 trillion won (US$810
million) in lost production. The automaker said previous strikes that started
late last month have already cost 500 billion won in lost production.
Kia and its union have failed to narrow their differences after a series of wage
negotiations.
The union is demanding that Kia raise its monthly basic salary by 5.5 percent and
offer a 200 percent bonus. The automaker is pushing for a wage freeze, however,
citing unfavorable market conditions.
Kia Motors reported on Tuesday that its second-quarter earnings nearly quadrupled
as government tax incentives and rising overseas demand for small cars boosted
sales.
Net profit reached 347 billion won in the April-June period, compared with a
profit of 85.9 billion won a year earlier.
Sales increased 11.5 percent to 4.68 trillion won over the cited period, and
operating income surged 182 percent to 330 billion won, it said.
sam@yna.co.kr
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