Kia workers start partial strike for higher pay

SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's
second-largest carmaker, launched Tuesday a partial strike for higher pay and
better working conditions, the union said.
Workers laid down tools for four hours at three plants after seven sessions of
talks with the company broke down. Out of 27,800 union members, 71.6 percent of
them voted for the strike on Monday, according to the union.
The union is demanding a rise of 87,709 won (US$68.9) in monthly basic salary and
200-percent bonus among other requests.
Kim Jong-seok, head of the Kia union, accused the company of insincerely
negotiating.
"The management had been in negotiations without sincerity. We just wasted time,"
Kim said. The union and Kia will resume talks on Wednesday.
In the first three months of this year, Kia posted a net profit of 97.4 billion
won, compared with a loss of 25 billion won for the same period a year ago.
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