S. Korea's Kia agrees tentative wage deal

South Korea's second biggest carmaker Kia Motors said Friday it had reached a tentative pay deal with its union, the second time in two years that annual negotiations have ended without a strike. Kia said the agreement, which will be voted on next Wednesday by union members, was reached after overnight negotiations at its Gwangmyeong plant west of Seoul. The company said in a statement the avoidance of a strike for the second consecutive year "means that mature management-labour relations have taken root". Kia offered a 5.17 percent increase in basic monthly salary, performance-based pay equivalent to three months of salary, seven million won ($6,700) as a cash bonus and 80 shares in the company per employee. The two sides reached the deal in 16 days, the shortest negotiating time in the company's history. Kia and its larger affiliate Hyundai Motor together form the world's fifth largest automaking group.