Kia Motors union approves revised wage deal
SEOUL, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Unionised workers at Kia Motors Corp (000270.KS), South Korea's second-biggest auto maker, voted to accept a fresh wage deal that calls for a 5.6 percent rise in base salary and other incentives, its union said on Tuesday.
Kia, an affiliate of the country's top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), and its union agreed on Friday to a wage plan that replaced a previous deal vetoed early in September.
The union said in a statement 76.8 percent of the members who participated in a vote had approved the contract. Of 30,058 union members, 95.8 percent voted.
In addition to a higher base salary, Kia's wage agreement includes a one-off payment of 3.6 million won ($2,968) and an annual bonus of 300 percent of monthly salary for each employee.
The union also endorsed a separate agreement to reduce total working hours throughout the shift span to 17 hours a day from 20 hours from September 2009.
Kia's union has staged eight partial strikes since July 2, resulting in lost output of 16,676 vehicles worth 221.7 billion won, according to a company estimate.
Workers at Hyundai Motor last week also approved a wage deal following an initial rejection.
Kia shares rose 2.81 percent to end at 14,650 won before the union announcement, outperforming the wider market's 0.57 percent loss helped by the weaker won currency and a bright sales outlook. ($1=1212.8 Won) (Reporting by Rhee So-eui; Editing by Keiron Henderson)
