POSCO Union Begins Second Partial Strike Over Wage Demands

SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) -- Unionized workers at South Korean steelmaker POSCO began a second partial strike Wednesday after failing to narrow differences with management in wage negotiations.

The 120-hour walkout began at 7 a.m. at POSCO's steel plants in Pohang and Gwangyang in southern South Korea, the union said.

POSCO has about 17,000 employees, including around 10,100 union members.

The strike follows a 48-hour walkout that began at 7 a.m. last Wednesday and involved 120 workers, marking the first strike by POSCO workers since the company was founded in 1968.

The union said the second strike would cause inevitable disruptions as about twice as many workers are participating compared with the first strike.

POSCO said, however, that there would be no major disruption to plant operations, with about 60 workers each from its Pohang and Gwangyang plants expected to join the strike.

The union has demanded a 7.1 percent increase in base pay, a performance bonus equivalent to 600 percent of base pay, 50 company shares per worker and a holiday bonus equivalent to 200 percent of base pay.

In addition to wage increases, the union has cited staffing shortages and aging facilities as factors that could lead to safety incidents.

Management, meanwhile, has proposed a 2 percent increase in base pay, leaving the two sides far apart over their key wage demands.