Hyundai Motor workers hold first full-day strike in decade

Hyundai Motor workers in South Korea held their first full-day strike in 10 years on Friday after wage and retirement age talks with management broke down.

The union representing workers at South Korea's largest automaker estimated that around 40,000 employees, including office workers, were taking part. It said workers on the 6:45 am morning shift did not report for work and workers on the 3:30 pm afternoon shift were told to stay home.

The union is demanding a 50 percent increase in bonuses and a two-year extension to the retirement age. It said Hyundai Motor's retained earnings stood at 101 trillion won, or $73 billion, last year and argued that the company could afford the demands.

Hyundai Motor told AFP it could not accept the union's demands without a solid legal or rational basis.

The strike followed a three-day partial walkout last month. Hyundai posted record second-quarter revenue of 49.2 trillion won, while operating profit fell 20.8 percent from a year earlier amid weaker sales.