Longer-serving employees are only receiving a 2-6% increase, recently-hired workers are getting as much as a 22% increase. The Korean ownership won’t talk.
About 1,700 workers at Hankook Tire in Hungary have been on strike for more than a week as the South Korean-owned company refuses to negotiate over a pay increase. IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the Federation of Chemical Workers of Hungary (VDSZ), which represents workers at Hankook’s Dunaújváros plant in central Hungary, says that 70% of 2,400 shift workers have joined the indefinite strike that began on 12 March.
The union is ready to reach a compromise with a 14% pay rise but is frustrated at not being able to make the proposal at the bargaining table. After a two-hour warning strike on 6 March, which had a 100% participation by workers, the company paid a 13.6% pay increase,. However, VDSZ says the rise does not benefit everyone equally.
For example, longer-serving employees are only receiving a 2- 6% increase, recently-hired workers are getting as much as a 22% increase, says the union.
Salaries at the plant for shift workers are much lower than in other enterprises. Workers at a nearby factory earn around 300,000 forint (US $957) per month, compared to workers at Hankook Tire who average less than 200,000 forint (US $638) per month.
In the meantime, Hankook, which normally produces 45,000 tires per day at the Dunaújváros plant, has hired scab labor and harassed and intimidated workers to try and break the strike, says VDSZ. Since industrial action began, production has dropped to 10,000 tires per day.
Union membership at the tire plant has grown by 1,000 workers in recent months. Hankook like virtually all Korean companies, has a history of anti-union hostility. In this case, Hungary, with several disputes escalating to the courts.
In a solidarity letter to VDSZ president, Tamas Szekely, IndustriALL’s general secretary, Valter Sanches, said: “IndustriALL Global Union fully supports the struggle of VDSZ members at Hankook Tire Hungary Ltd’s factory in Dunaújváros to bring the company back to the negotiating table, and to put an end to violations of fundamental workers’ rights.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
1,700 workers strike at Hankook Tire in Hungary
Longer-serving employees are only receiving a 2-6% increase, recently-hired workers are getting as much as a 22% increase. The Korean ownership won’t talk.
About 1,700 workers at Hankook Tire in Hungary have been on strike for more than a week as the South Korean-owned company refuses to negotiate over a pay increase. IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, the Federation of Chemical Workers of Hungary (VDSZ), which represents workers at Hankook’s Dunaújváros plant in central Hungary, says that 70% of 2,400 shift workers have joined the indefinite strike that began on 12 March.
The union is ready to reach a compromise with a 14% pay rise but is frustrated at not being able to make the proposal at the bargaining table. After a two-hour warning strike on 6 March, which had a 100% participation by workers, the company paid a 13.6% pay increase,. However, VDSZ says the rise does not benefit everyone equally.
For example, longer-serving employees are only receiving a 2- 6% increase, recently-hired workers are getting as much as a 22% increase, says the union.
Salaries at the plant for shift workers are much lower than in other enterprises. Workers at a nearby factory earn around 300,000 forint (US $957) per month, compared to workers at Hankook Tire who average less than 200,000 forint (US $638) per month.
In the meantime, Hankook, which normally produces 45,000 tires per day at the Dunaújváros plant, has hired scab labor and harassed and intimidated workers to try and break the strike, says VDSZ. Since industrial action began, production has dropped to 10,000 tires per day.
Union membership at the tire plant has grown by 1,000 workers in recent months. Hankook like virtually all Korean companies, has a history of anti-union hostility. In this case, Hungary, with several disputes escalating to the courts.
In a solidarity letter to VDSZ president, Tamas Szekely, IndustriALL’s general secretary, Valter Sanches, said: “IndustriALL Global Union fully supports the struggle of VDSZ members at Hankook Tire Hungary Ltd’s factory in Dunaújváros to bring the company back to the negotiating table, and to put an end to violations of fundamental workers’ rights.”
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.