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Panoramic view of POSCO headquarters. / POSCO

Management and labor at POSCO returned to the negotiating table following an initial partial strike, but ultimately failed to find common ground. The labor union plans to proceed as scheduled with a second, 120-hour partial strike starting on the 16th.

According to the POSCO Labor Union under the Federation of Korean Metalworkers' Trade Unions (FKMTU) of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) on the 15th, both sides held their 26th main round of negotiations that afternoon at POSCO headquarters in Pohang, but talks broke down without reaching an agreement. This session marked the first formal negotiation in 12 days since September 3, and followed the union's initial 48-hour partial strike staged from September 9 to 11.

In an unusual move, POSCO President and CEO Lee Hee-geun attended the bargaining session in person. Lee proposed postponing the second partial strike and conducting three days of intensive bargaining through the 18th to hammer out a compromise package, which would include employee morale-boosting measures.

However, the union pushed back, arguing that management requested the strike postponement before putting forward any improved proposals regarding wages or incentive bonuses.

The union claimed, "Despite having ample opportunity to engage in dialogue, management requested negotiations just a day before the strike and asked us to delay industrial action without offering a substantive counterproposal," adding, "Proposing three days of talks with no concrete proposal is effectively stalling to delay the strike."

The union plans to launch the scheduled second partial strike starting at 7:00 a.m. on the 16th. The strike targets the Pohang Works' No. 2 Hot Strip Mill and the Gwangyang Works' No. 4 Hot Strip Mill, while excluding reheating furnaces. Participant numbers are expected to run in the dozens at both Pohang and Gwangyang.

Nevertheless, the union kept open the possibility of dialogue leading right up to the strike.

A union official added, "If the company presents a substantive proposal before the strike begins, we will readily answer their call for negotiations at any time."

A POSCO official said, "The bargaining session was suspended without reaching any clear answers," adding, "Should the strike materialize, we will deploy available manpower and activate emergency contingency systems to ensure that production and safety operations proceed without disruption."

                                                                                                                  Kim Yu-ra