POSCO's management and union reached a tentative agreement on this year's wage and collective bargaining at the main session at the Pohang headquarters on the 30th, averting the indefinite third strike the union had announced from November 2. The deal takes effect only if union members approve it in a vote.
According to Financial News and Seoul Economic Daily, the two sides opened the main session on the morning of the 30th and reached the tentative deal after about 25 hours. Wage talks began on June 16 and ran more than four months, with roughly 30 working-level and main sessions. In September the union had staged partial strikes, the first since the company's founding.
광고 문의 · 300×250What the deal contains
The reported terms include a 2.6% base pay increase, a lump sum of 6 million won, a special promotion of three pay steps and a higher holiday bonus. Seoul Economic Daily said the holiday bonus is 2 million won plus 20% of base pay, rising to 30% from 2028. The deal also adds a shift-holiday allowance, a 20,000 won standby and maintenance allowance, and medical benefits extended to spouses and children.
At the 28th round, management had offered a 2.5% base pay rise and a 5 million won lump sum, among other items, but the union rejected it as unable to lift members' morale. Seoul Economic Daily reported that the union had sought a 7.1% base pay rise, a 600% incentive bonus, 50 company shares per employee and a 200% holiday bonus. Management began with a 1.2% offer tied to hitting its operating profit target before raising it to 2.5%.
Remaining steps and challenges
To take effect, the deal needs a majority in a vote of members of the metal workers' union's POSCO branch. The vote date could not be confirmed in this reporting. A rejection could reignite the dispute, which remains the main uncertainty.
Seoul Economic Daily said both sides share the view that the steel industry is in crisis amid weaker demand at home and abroad and spreading protectionism, and agreed that stabilizing workplaces and cooperating come first. The scale of production losses from this year's strikes did not appear in the reports reviewed.