“The voting lasted six hours and ended at noon. The ballot counting will start late this evening and the results won't be known until Thursday," a union spokesman told AFP.
The number of union members that took part (out of the total 45,000 persons) remains unknown.
Union leaders reached the deal with the company’s management on Monday, at the Ulsan facility, 400 kilometers south of Seoul. It was agreed that next year’s salaries will be frozen in exchange for bonuses worth about $13,000* each.
To reach this figure, an incentive payment of $4200* has been added with the value of three months’ salary, $5,100* and with 40 company shares worth $3,700*.
The debate has a deeper purpose than it might seem at first glace. If it is approved, 2009 would be the company’s first strike-free year for 15 years.
Between 1987 and last year, strikes cost the company production of 1.1 million vehicles resulting in 9.9 billion dollars in losses, as a company spokesman stated.
Union leader Lee Kyoung-Hoon declared that union representatives did their best to obtain advantages when negotiating with company officials. He also said that other top companies such as LG, Samsung, POSCO, and Hyundai Heavy Industries have also frozen basic wages.
*All figures are approximate
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