Leaders of unionized workers at Hyundai Motor said Thursday that they will put a tentative wage deal into a vote on Friday, raising hopes for ending labor disputes blamed for disrupting production.

The vote is taking place, two days after the two sides reached the deal tentatively.


The management and the labor at the nation’s largest carmaker, on Wednesday evening agreed to raise workers’ base monthly pay by 58,000 won ($51) and provide 350 percent of their base monthly salary with 3.5 million won in incentives.

Workers will get 10 shares of the company and 200,000 won in gift vouchers, according to the proposed agreement.

The deal will take effect if it gets approval from a majority of unionized workers, the union said.

The level of the agreed salary raise is the lowest in the past three years. Hyundai Motor said the wage proposal was made in consideration of the carmaker‘s declining profits over the years.

Last year, the two sides agreed to receive 400 percent of their monthly salary with 4.2 million won additionally in incentives, as well as an 85,000 won pay increase. Under the deal struck in 2014, workers received 450 percent of their monthly pay and an additional 8.9 million won in bonuses.

“Based on the mutual understanding on worsening management environment, the labor and the management came to a conclusion to not to pursue an excessive income raise as well as incentives,” the carmaker said in a statement.

Hyundai has been suffering from a continued decline in its operating profit since 2013.

After reaching a peak in 2012 with 8.4 trillion won in profit, the number started to drop 1.5 percent in 2013 to 8.3 trillion won. In 2015, the carmaker’s operating profit plummeted 15.8 percent on year to 6.3 trillion won from 7.55 trillion won in the previous year.

Its market dominance also has been falling to. Hyundai Motor’s market share in South Korea dropped to 38.9 percent last year from 49.1 percent in 2007, along with the growing popularity on foreign cars.

Amid a deteriorating market condition, the labor dispute has been blamed for instigating further drop in profits.

Since the negotiation began in July, workers have staged 14 rounds of partial strikes, the company said. Workers refusing to return to the workplace have delayed the production of about 65,500 vehicles, worth 1.47 trillion won, it added.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)