Key facts
- 51.69 percent of unionized POSCO workers voted against the tentative wage agreement, the union said.
- The rejected deal included a 2.6 percent base pay increase and a one-off payment of 6 million won.
- The union had demanded a 7.1 percent base pay increase and a performance bonus of 600 percent of base pay.
Unionized workers at South Korean steelmaker POSCO voted down a tentative wage agreement reached with management, union officials said, with 51.69 percent opposed and 48.31 percent in favor, according to the union.
The tentative deal included a 2.6 percent increase in base pay, a one-off payment of 6 million won (US$4,500) and improved benefits. The union had initially 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.
"We will probably need to open renegotiations as there were many opposing votes," a union official said.
The union and management reached the tentative agreement on October 30 after about 30 rounds of talks since June. Unionized POSCO workers staged two rounds of partial strikes in September to demand higher wages and bonuses.