Posco’s union continued a partial strike for a second day on Thursday, with no production disruptions reported so far, though a prolonged walkout could begin to weigh on operations if wage talks remain stalled.
The union launched a two-day walkout at 7 a.m. Wednesday, marking the first partial strike at Posco since the company was founded in 1968.
The Posco union, affiliated with the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, said about 20 workers at parts of the No. 2 electrical steel plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, and about 100 workers across the pickling line at the steelworks in Gwangyang, Jeonnam-Gwangju, are taking part in the strikes.
Of Posco’s roughly 17,000 workers, about 10,100 belong to the union, with just over 1 percent of the union members taking part in the strike.
The steelmaker has deployed replacement workers to affected production lines in Pohang and Gwangyang, keeping them operating at fully capacity without disruption to output, according to the company.
The walkout comes as labor and management remain far apart in annual wage and collective bargaining negotiations, with no formal talks held since Sept. 3.
Both sides have said they remain open to resuming negotiations during or after the walkout, but no formal contact has taken place as of press time.
The union has warned that it will launch a second, longer partial strike lasting 120 hours from Sept. 16 if there is no meaningful progress in negotiations.
At the latest bargaining session, the union demanded a 7.1 percent increase in base pay, a performance bonus equivalent to 600 percent of monthly wages, 50 Posco shares and a holiday bonus equivalent to 200 percent of monthly wages.
Management offered a 2 percent increase in base pay, a 3.5 million won performance bonus and 500,000 won in Iocal gift cards, leaving a wide gap between the two sides on core wage issues.
Posco argues that accepting the union’s demands in full would place excessive financial strain on the company as the steel industry faces sluggish demand and declining profitability.
The company estimates that meeting all of the union’s demands would cost about 1.4 trillion won, equivalent to roughly 80 percent of Posco’s 1.78 trillion won profit last year.
Posco’s operating profit in the first half of this year plunged 43.3 percent from a year earlier to 487.3 billion won, amid a prolonged downturn driven by oversupply from China, and sluggish domestic demand.
sahn@heraldcorp.com
