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Last night, Hyundai Motors Union (Ulsan Regional Council, a part of KMWU/KCTU) 'vowed' to suspend all engine output in the company's biggest production base from tomorrow, saying an employee set himself on fire to protest the company's ongoing suppression of unionized workers...

Reuters reported today the following about the latest developments:

The incident indicates labor issues remain a potential vulnerability for the strongly performing South Korean carmaker, although it avoided strikes for a third year in a row last year.

The worker and union member with the surname Shin was found in flames at a Hyundai engine plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan at around noon on Sunday, and is currently in critical condition at a hospital in nearby Busan, Hyundai's union said in a statement.

The union said in a separate statement that a factory manager had tried to "unfairly control" Shin after he reported problems with engine quality to management, citing files found on his computer.

"Hyundai's management has not abandoned its outdated labor management policy, causing frequent conflicts with labor," the union said.

The union warned that it would suspend engine output throughout Hyundai's complex in Ulsan and refuse overtime and weekend work from Tuesday should the company fail to accept demand including preventing the repeat of incidents of alleged suppression or excessive monitoring.

A company spokesman denied (of course^^) any improper conduct in the treatment of unionized workers.

But employees at the plant where Shin worked already suspended production after the incident...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/09/us-hyundai-labour-idUSTRE80804C20120109

Related articles/reports:
☞ 문용문 지부장 "분신사태 왜곡 단호히 대처하겠다" (Ulsan LaborNews, 1.09)
☞ 금속노조 현대차지부 "조합원 분신 현장통제 때문" (OMN, 1.09)
☞ 현대차 분신 조합원 ‘위독’.. 화상전문병원서 긴급 수술 (VOP, 1.09)
☞ 현대차지부 조합원, 사측 현장통제에 맞서 항거분신 (KCTU, 1.08)
☞ Hyundai braced for labour unrest (beyondbrics, 1.09)