Hyundai India Agrees to Raise Workers’ Pay to ₹31,000; CITU-Backed Union Calls It ‘Treacherous’

Hyundai Motor India on Wednesday announced that it had signed a “mutually beneficial wage settlement agreement” with the United Union of Hyundai Employees (UUHE) to raise pay to ₹31,000 per month. The agreement follows months of protests at its Chennai plant over demands for better wages.

However, the settlement does not include the Hyundai Motor India Employees Union (HMIEU), a union backed by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). The company does not officially recognize the union and the matter is pending in Madras High Court.

In a stock exchange filing, the company said it had signed a wage settlement agreement for 2024–2027, which includes “an industry-best salary increase of ₹31,000 per month, structured over a three-year period in the ratio of 55%, 25% and 20%.”

In addition to the pay hike, Hyundai said it provides employee welfare benefits, including best-in-class health coverage and advanced wellness programmes that “lead the industry.”

The automaker described UUHE as the officially recognised representative body for Hyundai Motor India Limited’s (HMIL) workforce, representing 1,981 employees—about 90% of the technician/workmen cadre. The union was registered in 2011.

However, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, HMIEU called the deal “treacherous.”

“The factory was turned into a police-controlled zone, with forces deployed inside to push through this agreement,” the union alleged.

“How can an agreement involving 2,400 workers be imposed without even informing them? What kind of democracy is this? At a time when disputes between the majority union and management are still pending before the labour department, management has not held even a single round of talks. Instead, it has ignored workers’ demands and sentiments for four months. This only reflects its authoritarian mindset,” the post said.

Earlier reports suggested that HMIEU represents about 1,356 workers at the plant.

In another post on Thursday, the union said it was holding a “one-day token strike” at the Hyundai factory “against the management’s imposition of a non-transparent agreement.”

“Out of 15,000 workers in the plant, around 12,000 earn an average total salary of only ₹20,000. While exploiting the majority of workers, Hyundai advertises small wage hikes for a select few, continuing large-scale exploitation. In protest against this injustice and forced agreement, HMIEU–CITU is observing today’s strike. May the CITU struggle succeed in ensuring justice by refusing to remain silent spectators to such unfairness,” it said.

Following the wage hike announcement, Hyundai’s shares rose 2% on the BSE on Wednesday. By 1:41 pm on Thursday, the stock was trading 2% higher at ₹2,705 apiece.