Strike Ballot at Kia plant in Žilina

"On April 2, 2026, the union local at the Kia factory in Žilina, Slovakia, released this video calling on workers to participate in an upcoming strike ballot. The ballot follows several rounds of collective bargaining that failed to produce a compromise. Management is offering a three-year deal: in 2026, monthly wages would rise by an average of €160 for production workers and 7.5% for office workers, with a 5% increase and a one-time bonus of €1,500 planned for each of the following two years. The union is holding out for an immediate €250 increase in 2026.

The video features Martin Čech, the chairman of the union local's committee, informing the workers about the next steps. "What's in our favor? Just-in-time. A fabulous phase of capitalism which is efficient, which sequences components precisely, which exploits labor power efficiently, but which is also very vulnerable! [...] This here is a little map with choke points highlighted where we'll try to disrupt the just-in-time system," he says.

Should the strike go ahead, it would be the first at the Korean brand's only European plant – a state-of-the-art facility that employs around 3,700 people and turns out 350,000 vehicles a year. The factory anchors a broad supplier network and maintains close ties with the Hyundai plant in Nošovice, Czech Republic." (Karmina)