Economic Times (India) | 28 June 2007
Hyundai workers on strike against FTA
AGENCIES
SEOUL: Workers at South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor launched a partial strike on Thursday to join an industry-wide walkout in protest at a free trade agreement with the United States.
"Our assembly lines remained crippled from 1:00 pm due to a four-hour strike," a Hyundai Motor official told media, adding "unionised workers at Hyundai's affiliate Kia Motors also downed tools."
The two-day strike comes as the United States and South Korea are set to sign the free trade agreement reached on April 2 after 10 months of tough negotiations.
The two countries completed renegotiating the deal this week to reflect Washington's new commerce guidelines, awaiting for approval from their governments.
The pact, the biggest for the US since the 1993 North America Free Trade Agreement, is expected to be signed on June 30 before US President George W. Bush's "fast-track" trade promotion authority expires.
The agreement has left many local workers and farmers fearing for their jobs, although it is supported by a majority of South Koreans, according to opinion polls.
The Korean Metal Workers' Union, an umbrella labor group, said more than 100,000 workers including Hyundai Motor's 43,000-strong union and Kia's 27,000-member union walked off their jobs Thursday.
The Labor Ministry said the walkout drew about 45,000 workers nationwide. Hyundai Motor said the two-day work stoppage would result in lost production of 4,893 vehicles worth 69.4 billion won ($ 74.6 mn). Kia said it would lose 3,900 units worth 57 billion won.
Strikes have become almost an annual rite at Hyundai since its union was launched in 1987 in the wake of a pro-democracy popular uprising.
Last year the company lost production of 115,683 vehicles worth 1.6 trillion won ($ 1.7 bn) because of strikes lasting 17 days.
Hyundai's lost production stood at 266.7 billion won due to a three-day strike over a disputed bonus in January.
