Hyundai Motor resumes ouput at a S.Korean plant

SEOUL: South Korea's Hyundai Motor resumed output Saturday morning at a plant producing its best-selling Grandeur and Sonata sedans after the carmaker reached an agreement with its labour union, a union official said.

Hyundai workers stopped production at the company's sole Korean facility Thursday afternoon after an employee there committed suicide, leaving notes accusing the company of "suppressing the labour movement," according to media reports.

After hours of talks, management accepted union demands including compensation to the family of the worker, disciplinary action against company officials, recruitment of the late employee's widow or his child and the guarantee of activities of union members, the union official said.

"We have resumed production from 6:15 a.m. today and will do Saturday and Sunday works as previously planned," he told Reuters.

A Hyundai Motor spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.

The death came at a sensitive time when management and the labour union have just started wage talks and collective bargaining. The talks are watched closely to see whether South Korea's top automaker will be able to avoid a third straight year of strikes.

An industrial action by the labour union could deal a blow to Hyundai, which in recent years has had record profits and market share gains in the United States.

Shares in Hyundai finished down 1.55 percent versus a 1.19 percent fall in the wider market on Friday.

Copyright Reuters, 2011