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The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions will seek solidarity between workers at domestic plants of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group and those of overseas factories and the United Auto Workers of the U.S. The group's unions are worried about their weakening negotiating power due to the automaker's heavier dependence on overseas production.
The metal workers union under the KCTU on Thursday said it will hold an international conference to build a global labor network of the automotive industry at the KCTU's training center in Seoul on March 10-12. As the umbrella organization of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group unions, the union has the final say on industrial action.
An official with the union said, "Workers are worse off because when the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group moved production overseas, it caused labor-labor conflict. The group's unions have to intervene directly in the affairs of overseas plants to effectively deal with group management."
The group has plants in six countries, the U.S., Turkey, India, China, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. There are unions or workers' consultative bodies in all countries except the U.S. A senior executive of Hyundai Motor said, "In this very difficult global economic situation, we hope the domestic unions won't take extreme action."
Prof. Chun Yong-wook of Chung-Ang University said, "The domestic plants of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group have the lowest production flexibility because they have to get consent from the unions whenever they decide on production volume or car models. If that irrational practice spreads overseas and domestic unions seek joint walkouts with overseas plants, the group's overseas business strategy will be in big trouble."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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