Hyundai Motor India strikes new wage deal

Mumbai: Hyundai Motor India, the second largest car manufacturer in the country, has signed a three-year wage agreement with workers involving wage hike for close to 4,000 workers in its plant in Chennai. This is the first wage agreement at HMIL which has been operating in India for over a decade, the company said. The wage increase, effective April 2006, will be valid till March 2009.

"Hyundai Motor has achieved a commendable growth during its decade long journey in India. The growth in domestic market has touched a new sky and we have also bagged substantial export orders. The employees have shown a true dedication towards the company as they are enthusiastic to support the organisation to achieve its goals. We thank them and seek their continued cooperation to grow the company even further in the coming years so as to be the number one car manufacturer in the country," said. HMIL managing director Heung Soo Lheem.

"We had positive approach of negotiation process with a constructive and clear goal in mind. The settlement archived between the management and its employees would help in a long way to build passion and also create a good industrial climate and thereby would be a win-win situation for both" he added.

Hyundai Motor India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea. HMIL presently markets 31 variants of passenger cars in six segments. The Santro in the B segment, Getz in the B+ segment, the Accent in the C segment, the Elantra in the D segment, the Sonata Embera in the E segment and the Tucson and Terracan in the SUV segment.

The company recorded combined sales of 252,851 units during calendar year 2005 with a growth of 17.26 per cent over year 2004. HMIL reported total roll-out of 10,00,000 cars in just 90 months since its inception. The company also claims to be the largest exporter of passenger cars in the country with exports of over Rs1,800 crore. HMIL exports recorded a growth of 27.2 per cent in 2005.

HMIL, meanwhile, has announced plans for a second plant, which will produce 300,000 units per annum, raising HMIL''s total production capacity to 600,000 per annum by 2007. The Korean company is also positioning HMIL as its global export hub for compact cars.