South Korea’s Ssangyong Motor Co. settled annual wage agreement with its labor union, marking the ninth straight year to reach a deal without a strike.

Nearly half or 1,636 workers of 3,265 members who took part in vote agreed to a wage deal that freezes base salary and pays out a bonus of 1 million won ($885), the company said Friday. Ssangyong Motor is the fourth largest automaker based in Korea and owned by India’s Mahindra & Mahindra. It has been struggling to improve its business amid sagging domestic demand and intensifying competition.

The company said the latest agreement shows the management and workers’ strong will to put the business back on track, adding that it will keep investing on new car development over the next three years as planned.

To share the employees’ burden and join their efforts to improve performance, senior executives also have decided to voluntarily surrender 10 percent of their monthly pay starting this month, said the company.

Choi Johng-sik, CEO of Ssangyong Motor said that the management and the union agreed to focus their efforts on the "company’s survival and employment stability” rather than seeking higher wage and better benefits at the time when the whole auto industry is struggling amid the protracted slowdown.

By Kim Jung-hwan and Cho Jeehyun

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