Plans for a low-wage car factory in the South Korean city of Gwangju have driven the union's VW rival Hyundai to the barricades. About 80,000 employees at Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors put their work down in a warning strike for four hours. In doing so, they wanted to protest the "Gwangju Model," said the executive auto-industry executive at the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU), Ha Young Chul.
Hyundai and the city government of Gwangju are negotiating the construction of a factory where employees should work for an annual salary of about € 31,000. They would thus receive significantly less than half of the nationwide average annual earnings for the automaker of 73,000 euros.
The world's fifth largest car group wants to get involved with 19 percent in a joint venture for the project initiated by the city. Planned is the production of a mini-SUV.
However, the negotiations have been suspended since this week because of differing views on wage bargaining with the union. The company will make a final decision on its participation in the project "if feasible," the Hyundai Motor Group said.