South Korea: Leading brewer Hite-Jinro still trying to settle labor union issues

The labor union at Hite-Jinro is causing a stir for demanding the replacement of an executive in charge of labor relations while an ongoing strike has been severely disrupting the company's operations, the Korea Times reported on October 19.

Korea's largest maker of the distilled liquor soju said on October 19 that the union's demand is not the subject of collective bargaining, urging striking workers to "come to their senses" and work harder with management to reach a consensus.

Demanding a 7 percent hike in the base salary, union workers began a partial walkout on Sept. 25. They have been staging a full-scale strike since Oct. 13, with about 1,700 out of 2,300 union members refusing to work.

The workers are also asking management to guarantee job security for all union members even if the company downsizes its operation.

Hite-Jinro has three breweries and four soju distilleries in Korea. But the ongoing strike has forced it to run only two breweries in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, and Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, and a soju distillery in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

"Labor and management held their 20th negotiation on Oct. 16 and 17, but failed to narrow their differences," a company official said. "The biggest obstacle is the union's demand for the dismissal of the executive handling labor-related issues. But the demand cannot be accepted because only management has the authority over personnel affairs. The matter is non-negotiable."

Hite-Jinro, which had previously refused to raise the base salary, said it would consider hiking the wage if the union makes concessions. Workers receive an average annual salary of 78.3 million won ($69,300), one of the highest in the liquor industry, according to the company.

"Even without a base wage hike, workers will receive 3.5 percent more money this year than in 2016 under our salary step system," the official said. "Management had previously asked union workers to accept a wage freeze, given deteriorating business conditions. But in order to end the ongoing strike as quickly as possible, the company has decided to consider increasing the base salary by a reasonable rate."

He said the number of union members returning to work has jumped in recent days, adding the strike is losing momentum.

"We resumed production at our Changwon plant Thursday as dozens of union workers reported back to work," the official said. "The remaining workers should also return to the production lines as quickly as possible to supply as much product as our distributors and retail customers need."

Due to the plant shutdown, Hite-Jinro has been unable to meet demand for its soju and beer. The company is Korea's largest soju maker, accounting for 50 percent of the market, and fiercely competes with Oriental Brewery for the top beer spot.

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