Kia Motors workers set to strike over wages

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's
second-largest carmaker, will launch strikes this week to demand higher wages and
better working conditions, union officials said Wednesday.
Kia workers will lay down their tools for six hours on Thursday and all day on
Friday, the union said.

Kia and its union failed to narrow their differences after holding 16 sessions of
wage negotiations.
The union is demanding that Kia raise its monthly basic salary by 5.5 percent and
offer a 200 percent bonus. The automaker is pushing for a wage freeze, however,
citing unfavorable market conditions.
Last week, unionized workers staged a two-day partial strike to increase their
leverage at the negotiations.
If the workers hold strikes this week as planned, it will cost Kia an estimated
330 billion won (US$264.2 million), or some 18,000 vehicles, in lost production,
the company said.
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