SEOUL, July 22 — Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest automaker, said 82 employees at its biggest assembly plant were hurt in clashes with labour activists demanding better conditions for temporary workers.
The three-hour clash on July 20 between activists from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, an umbrella group of labor unions, and Hyundai employees caused an estimated 2.2 billion won (RM6 million) in damage, the Seoul-based automaker said in an e-mail today.
Some members of the trade union group tried to use force to enter the plant in Ulsan, a city on the southeastern coast of South Korea, according to the automaker and labour body. The members threw bamboo sticks and stones at Hyundai security personnel, who used fire hoses to keep them at bay, they said.
The activists demanded Hyundai convert all 6,800 of its temporary workers, hired by subcontractors, into regular employees to enjoy better benefits and pay. The carmaker said in December that it will convert 3,500 workers by the first half of 2016, an offer that was rejected by the union.
“The incident was triggered by a third party which doesn’t help the company or the non-regular workers’ union trying to reach an agreement on the issue,” said Lee Sang Hyun, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities Co., who recommends buying Hyundai shares. “Although it has a negative impact on investor sentiment, the issue won’t lead to big production losses as the number of workers involved is few and they can be replaced.”
Hyundai declined 0.2 per cent to 221,000 won as of 1:04pm in Seoul trading, compared with a 0.5 per cent gain for the benchmark Kospi index.
The trade union group should halt illegal activities and resolve the situation through talks, the Federation of Korean Industries, the nation’s largest business lobby group, said in an e-mailed statement today. — Bloomberg
