Renault Samsung, who enters’union voting’, strikes anytime in case of majority vote

Renault Samsung’s Busan plant that went on strike in 2019. [연합뉴스]

Renault Samsung’s labor union enters a vote for a strike. While wage and collective bargaining between labor and management was at a standstill, the union pulled out a strike card. Renault Samsung is the only one of the five domestic automakers (Hyundai Motor, Kia, GM Korea, Renault Samsung, and Ssangyong) that could not conclude an agreement in 2020.

According to the automobile industry on the 1st, the Renault Samsung union votes for and against the industrial action for two days until the 2nd. The union can legally strike if the majority (1090 or more) of the 1-4 union members (about 2,180) in the company, each formed by the corporate union and industrial union, approve. This is because the union secured the right to dispute after receiving a decision to suspend dispute settlement from the Central Labor Commission in October last year.

According to the current trade union law, in the case of a company whose mediation was suspended by the middle and senior unions, it can go on strike at any time if the union gets a majority vote in the industrial action vote. Even if either of the labor or management refuses to mediate the middle labor, the union has the right to strike.

Renault Samsung’s union has put a lot of weight on negotiations with employers, such as delaying voting for industrial action for nearly four months after the decision of the middle labor union, but this year, the company is considering a strike as the company has taken a strong stance. When the operating deficit of about 70 billion won was confirmed last year, the company decided to receive the desired retirement by the end of this month.

The signing of a sale contract for the site of Ilsan Techno Station (TS), a direct maintenance center, is also causing backlash from the union. In this regard, Renault Samsung’s union criticized the company, saying, “Announcing restructuring and sale of assets during temporary negotiations is inducing disputes.” Both sides entered the main negotiations four times this year but did not produce any results.

The office building of Renault Samsung’s Busan factory, which was once suspended in September last year. [뉴스1]

The management side is also pressing the union with public opinion during negotiations. Christoph Buterno, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Samsung, attended a forum hosted by the Automobile Industry Association on the 28th of last month and said, “The Renault plant in Spain has an hourly wage of only 62% of Korea. The local tax for each car is only a third of that of Korea,” he criticized Korea.

It is unclear whether the Renault-Samsung union will go on strike even if the result is predominant in the vote for or against the industrial action. A union official said, “This vote is not just for strikes. Even if the right to strike is secured, the level of struggle will be discussed in the Dispute Countermeasure Committee.”

Reporter Kim Young-min [email protected]