South Korean Union Workers Return to Work at GM Daewoo

SEOUL, South Korea July 22, 2004; The AP reported that third-largest South Korean carmaker GM Daewoo returned to normal operation Thursday after union and management reached a tentative agreement to end a day-old strike.

Unionized workers at GM Daewoo Auto & Technology's two plants began a two-day strike Wednesday, after the company rejected their demands for a 16.6 percent increase in wages and better working conditions.

The strikers returned to work after the sides struck an agreement early Thursday, said union and company officials.

The deal, subject to approval in a vote next week by rank-and-file union members, called for the company to increase basic salaries by 12.12 percent and set a firm five-day work week without cutting wages. Employees currently must work on Saturdays every fourth week.

Detroit-based General Motors Corp. created GM Daewoo in 2002 after acquiring a majority stake in the now-defunct Daewoo Motor. GM Daewoo now controls 10 percent of the domestic auto market. It sold 600,000 cars last year.

GM didn't take over Daewoo Motor's main assembly plant in Bupyeong, west of Seoul. That plant was renamed Daewoo Incheon Motor.

Workers at Daewoo Incheon Motor, who belong to the same union with GM Daewoo workers, had staged sporadic walkouts this month to demand that GM Daewoo buy their company by the end of next year. They believe GM ownership will make their jobs more secure.

GM had previously said it would take over Daewoo Incheon Motor on condition of enhanced productivity and a peaceful labor-management relationship.

During their latest talks, management and union "appreciated the importance" of merging GM Daewoo and Daewoo Incheon Motor in the near future, both sides said.