In a statement LG-Caltex union vice president Oh Seung-hoon said, “Demanding a 10.5% wage hike and a five-day workweek, without any compensatory change in working conditions, 68% of [our] unionised workers voted to strike on July 14. The scale and duration of the strike [will] depend on how further talks with management [pan] out.”

“The company earned 200 billion won (US$173.2 million) in net profit in the first quarter of this year. It has more than enough money to accept our demands,” he added.

Currently, it is estimated around 43% of the company’s 2,550 workers are part of the union.

Management and the union have already had four rounds of previous negotiations but to no avail. According to a company insider, “The problem is that their demands are simply way too high. We have not had enough talks yet, and there are many obstacles in negotiations.”

LG-Caltex is a 50-50 JV between US giant ChevronTexaco Corp and South Korea’s LG Group. The JV has a refinery in Yosu, which is capable of refining 650,000 barrels of crude per day.