GM Korea workers from the newly launched R&D entity are poised to go on strike over a dispute in collective agreement terms, putting a strain on Korea’s auto industry that is already struggling with poor sales and low productivity.

According to auto industry sources on Sunday, 2,093 unionized workers at GM Technical Center Korea (GMTCK) will decide whether to stage a walkout after a two-day vote that begins Monday. The union needs to receive more than half of the votes to proceed with the strikes.

The dominant sentiment is in favor of the walkout, according to a GM Korea official. But as the union workers have yet to reach a consensus, it could take some time before they can actually go on strike, according to sources.

The union’s last industrial action was in December 2018 when workers rallied against the company’s plan to spin off its R&D unit. Employees feared the move was a prelude to broader restructuring, especially after the U.S. headquarters shuttered one of its four manufacturing sites in Korea last year as part of cost-cutting measures.

Despite the fierce opposition, GMTCK, the demerged R&D entity of General Motors’ Korean unit, went into operation in January this year.

The main sticking point behind the latest dispute is the collective agreement that outlines worker wages, benefits and duties. GMTCK workers have been seeking to adopt the same collective agreement that GM Korea’s labor union had reached with management. But the management has dismissed the demands, saying that the agreement needs to be revised to fit the different needs of an R&D operation. According to the union, the company wants to change 70 out of the 133 clauses in the current contract between union and management.

“Contrary to employment terms, a collective agreement is not subject to succession,” said a GM Korea official, adding that GM Korea Chief Executive Kaher Kazem has also been firm on this point.

Since last month, management and labor representatives of GM Korea have met nine times to iron out their differences but failed to make much headway.

Some say the union has a weaker standing on the issue given the recent court ruling. Earlier this month, the Incheon court rejected GM Korea union’s request for an injunction against GMTCK regarding its collective agreement status, saying that “while GMTCK and GM Korea share joint liability, collective agreement, unlike debt, is not a liability that needs to be met.”

GM Korea is one of several automakers in Korea grappling with labor protests. Workers at Renault Samsung have taken part in partial walkouts since October last year. The union at Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor has also threatened to launch a strike ahead of wage negotiations next month.

By Lee Jong-hyuk and Kim Hyo-jin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]