Trade unions at the manufacturing plant of South Korean car maker Kia in Žilina are on strike alert after they failed to reach an agreement with management over pay rises. The original collective agreement on pay expired at the end of March and the automaker offered a temporary solution until the conclusion of a new contract that gives employees an increase in basic monthly salary of €25, which is an average of 3.2 percent.
"We had had eight rounds of negotiations and we came very close to an agreement regarding the increase in basic salaries .When it comes to the one-off bonuses for profit, however, the company offers a half of what we have asked for, “said trade union leader Miroslav Chladek. According to the spokesman for Kia Motors Slovakia Jozef Bačé, the automaker is taking into account the economic performance in the regular quarterly compensation of employees. "Since 2007, for the fulfilment of the production plan each quarter we pay incentive bonuses of 30 percent. Last year, for example, our employees got an average of €1,306. At the same time from the start of the production of a new series it annually pays a bonus of 55 percent in summer and 50 to 65 percent at Christmas time,” said Bačé.
Management submitted its proposal for the new collective agreement directly to employees after failing to reach an agreement with the trade unions. Under the proposal, employees will have their salaries increased in August and get an additional bonus of €628. On average, an assembly line worker will earn by €84 more per month. The trade unions now want to turn to the Ministry of Labour and ask for a mediator. The company welcomes this opportunity.
Anca Dragu
