Workers at GM Korea staged a partial strike on 9 September. The GM Korea branch of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU) established a central executive committee and staged a four-hour partial strike. The GM Korea union’s strike was held for the 2nd consecutive year.
GM Korea’s day shift workers in the company’s plant in Bupyeong carried out a four-hour strike and night shift workers also participated in a walkout for four hours. The GM Korea union is demanding that the company raise workers’ basic monthly wages by KRW 154,883 (USD 133) and that it offers 500 percent of the basic wage in bonuses. Other demands include the establishment of the so-called 8+8 shift system in which night-duty workers finish their day an hour earlier. Under the existing 8+9 system, GM Korea offered an increase of KRW 50,000 in the basic monthly salary and KRW 4 million in bonuses per worker.
On the same day, GM Korea President and CEO Kaher Kazem vowed to cut costs and make investments to build new cars that can improve the company’s financial status. The executive outlined the goal in a business update followed by a Q&A session held for 800 managers and executives. President Kazem announced that he will get rid of GM Korea’s external worries by improving its financial structure while pinpointing GM Korea’s cumulative deficit of 2 trillion KRW (USD 1.8 billion) in the past three years. “All our employees must change for a sustainable future,” President Kazem continued. “It is a duty of all employees including me. We will be able to overcome challenging tasks for a sustainable future as a team if we continue to put our employees’ great capabilities, our strengths, and our customers at the center of all our activities.”