POSCO-strikes

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- Unionized workers at South Korean steelmaker POSCO will launch an "indefinite" strike next week unless the company makes an acceptable offer in wage negotiations, the union said Monday.

The warning came after wage talks between POSCO and the union broke down over the weekend.

"Starting at 7 a.m. on Nov. 2, workers in non-core production lines at the company's plants in Pohang and Gwangyang will go on strike, excluding those in the blast furnace, heating and steelmaking lines," union spokesperson Park Chun-su said over the phone.

The union remains open to negotiations if the company makes any meaningful new proposals before the strike begins, he said.

"If the union launches the planned strike, the company will immediately activate an emergency operational response system and adjust production volumes to minimize the impact on customers and domestic demand industries," POSCO said in a statement.

In September, unionized workers at the two plants in southern South Korea staged two rounds of partial strikes, marking the first industrial action by POSCO workers since the company was founded in 1968.

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

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 increase the risk of safety incidents.

Management, meanwhile, has proposed a 2.5 percent increase in base pay and a one-off payment of 5 million won (US$3,770) in its revised offer.

Shares in POSCO Holdings fell 1.63 percent to 271,000 won as of 10:35 a.m., far underperforming the broader KOSPI's 0.48 percent loss.

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