Kia workers strike for higher wages

SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp. on Wednesday began a partial strike for higher wages after rejecting the company's proposals last week.

Kia's union said they held a four-hour strike on Wednesday and plan to walk out for eight hours on Thursday.

On Friday, 56 percent of the union's 27,050 workers voted down the deal tentatively agreed between the company and the union on Dec. 10.

Under the initial agreement, Kia offered to raise workers' basic monthly wage by 40,000 won (US$34) and provide bonuses worth one and a half months of wages plus cash of 3.2 million won per worker.

The union said it will decide on whether to continue the industrial action if the company does not come to the negotiating table on Friday.

From January to September, Kia's net profit jumped 39 percent to 1.48 trillion won from 1.06 trillion won a year earlier.

Its sales fell 1.1 percent to 2,543,237 vehicles in the January-November period from 2,571,001 units in the same period a year earlier.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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