Kumho Tire, union tentatively OK wage deal

SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- Kumho Tire Co. and its labor union said Wednesday they have reached a tentative wage deal for the year of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tentative wage agreement comes after the company's 2,700-strong union threatened to stage a general strike to demand a wage increase and restore the bonus system in a vote held Jan. 28.

The company proposed a wage freeze and a cash bonus worth 1 million won (US$900) per worker and signed a contract that guarantees job security for current workers. The union tentatively accepted the offers.

Union members will cast a ballot on the tentative deal from Friday to Saturday, union spokesman Kim Seong-jin said.

Kumho Tire didn't raise wages for 2018 and 2019, and its union members returned two months of bonuses a year and accepted reduced welfare benefits, he said.

Kumho Tire is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter and 2020 earnings results next month.

In 2018, Chinese tiremaker Qingdao Doublestar Co. acquired a 45 percent stake in the Korean tiremaker for 646.3 billion won from the state-run Korea Development Bank.

Kumho Tire has eight plants -- three in South Korea, three in China, one in Vietnam and one in the United States -- with a combined production capacity of 54.64 million tires.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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