Kia Motor union vetoes tentative wage deal

SEOUL, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Unionised workers at Kia Motors Corp (000270.KS), South Korea's No.2 auto maker, have blocked a preliminary agreement on wages, the union said on Thursday.

"More than a half of members opposed the arrangement," a union official told Reuters by phone.

The auto maker and its union reached a tentative wage deal for the year on Wednesday.[ID:nSEO276369]

The preliminary deal, which needed approval by union members, includes a 5.6 percent rise in base salary, a one-off payment to each employee of 3 million won ($2,714) and an annual bonus of 300 percent of monthly salary, Kia had said.

Kia's union members have staged eight partial strikes since July 2, losing 16,676 vehicles in output, according to the company's estimates.

Its affiliate, Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), has suffered a partial strike since Wednesday after a majority of its union members voted against the wage deal.

Shares in Kia ended down 7.96 percent at 13,300 won on market talk that it may report operating losses for the third quarter..

($1=1105.2 Won)

(Reporting by Park Ju-min; Editing by Nick Macfie)