POSCO’s union is beginning a 120-hour partial strike from 7 a.m. on September 16 after renewed wage negotiations failed to produce an agreement. The stoppage is the union’s second round of industrial action in the current dispute and is scheduled to continue for five days. Both labor and management have said further dialogue remains possible, but their positions were still apart after talks at POSCO’s Pohang headquarters on September 15.
The union entered the latest negotiations seeking a 7.1% increase in base pay and a bonus equivalent to 600% of a specified payment base, according to Korean reporting on the dispute. Management and the union resumed formal talks in the afternoon but did not reach a compromise. The union then confirmed that the previously announced partial strike would proceed.
A five-day test for production
The immediate effect will depend on how the industrial action is organized across POSCO operations. A partial strike does not automatically mean every production line stops for the full 120 hours, but a prolonged dispute can complicate staffing, maintenance and output planning. Businesses and local groups around Pohang are watching whether the stoppage begins to affect production schedules.
The dispute also comes at a sensitive time for the regional economy. POSCO is one of Pohang’s largest industrial anchors, and uncertainty around steel operations can spread to contractors, logistics providers and other companies linked to the plant. Local concern is focused on the risk that a wage dispute becomes a longer industrial disruption rather than on the bargaining table alone.
Both sides still have room to resume negotiations while the partial strike is under way. Signals to follow include any new bargaining date, changes in the wage proposals and evidence of production disruption. If talks restart quickly, the five-day action could remain limited; if the gap persists, pressure will increase on both management and the union as the economic effects become easier to measure.