Kim Sung-ho, who won a third term as head of the POSCO labor union, said the union will resume wage negotiations with management.
Kim, the incumbent chairman, was elected to lead the 21st union leadership with 6,382 votes, or 73.53%, defeating Kim Dae-eok, a former vice chairman of the Pohang chapter, who received 2,298 votes, or 26.47%, the union said on the 2nd. Of 8,972 eligible voters, 8,680 cast ballots.
Running alongside Kim on the leadership slate were Cho Yang-rae for senior vice chairman, Park Cheon-su for Pohang vice chairman, Kim Kyung-su for Pohang office director, Shin Jae-ho for Gwangyang vice chairman and Kim Tae-sung for Gwangyang office director. The 21st POSCO union leadership will serve from Dec. 1 this year through Nov. 30, 2029.
With the election settled, POSCO and the union agreed to return to the bargaining table. The union staged two partial strikes last month after failing to reach agreement with management on wages. They were the first strikes at POSCO since the company was founded in 1968, a span of 58 years.
The union demanded a 7.1% increase in base pay, incentive payments equal to 600% of monthly wages, 50 shares under the employee stock ownership plan and holiday bonuses equal to 200% of monthly wages. Management countered with a 2.0% increase in base pay, a target-achievement incentive of 3.5 million won, 500,000 won in local gift certificates and a broader pool of employees eligible for higher long-service awards.
"Starting next week, we will resume wage bargaining with management in earnest," a union official said.
