Hyundai Motor workers accept wage deal, avoid strike

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ULSAN, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- Workers at Hyundai Motor Co. voted to approve a wage
agreement for next year, union and company officials said Thursday, making 2009
Hyundai's first strike-free year in 15 years.
Unionized workers approved a freeze in basic pay for next year in return for an
incentive payout of 5 million won (US$4,200), a bonus equivalent to three months'
basic pay and 40 shares of Hyundai Motor, according to the officials.
About 62 percent of the 42,146 union members voted cast ballots in favor of the
deal, which was reached on Monday at the company's main plant in Ulsan, about 400
kilometers south of Seoul.
"We will continue to make efforts to be reborn as a labor union that can be
trusted by all," said Jang Kyu-ho, a union spokesman.
In the past years, the union of Hyundai has been known for its militancy. Since
its establishment in 1987, the union had gone on strike every year but one.
Despite the global economic slump, Hyundai posted a record high quarterly net
profit of 979.2 billion won in the third quarter of this year, helped by the
South Korean currency's weakness.
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