GM Korea, labor union reach tentative agreement on wages

General Motors Korea and its labor union reached a tentative agreement on wages Wednesday, four months after their talks began in July.

According to GM Korea, the two sides came up with a draft agreement during negotiations that started Tuesday.

In the tentative agreement, GM Korea promised to offer an incentive of 4 million won ($3,600) to its workers as a message of encouragement amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the labor union asked for the management to maintain operations at the two automotive plants in Bupyeong, Incheon, the automaker said it would continue operating one of the factories in accordance with market demand. For the other plant, the company said it would invest $190 million starting next year.

While the company had asked to replace the current year-to-year deal with a two-year agreement, this was not included in the draft.

The tentative agreement has to receive a majority of votes from the employees to be finalized. The vote is expected to be held next week.

GM workers had staged partial strikes for the past 15 days, as of Wednesday.

Meanwhile, unionized workers at Kia Motor began a partial strike Wednesday to demand higher wages and bonuses. The workers were set for two sets of four-hour walkouts on the day.

The union will stage the partial strikes until Friday.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)