POSCO Holdings Inc reached a tentative wage deal with its labor union on October 31, 2023, agreeing to raise the basic monthly salary by 100,000 won (approximately $74), adopt a four-day workweek every other week, and provide additional benefits, thereby averting a potential strike. The agreement was mediated by the National Labor Relations Commission following a prolonged dispute.

On October 30, 2023, unionized workers at POSCO Holdings Inc. voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike to protest what they consider an inadequate wage increase. The company had offered a raise of 162,000 won in basic monthly salary along with additional benefits, which fell short of the union’s demand for a 13.1% raise. The decision follows a series of collective bargaining talks that failed to reconcile the differences between management and workers.

IndustriALL Global and industriALL Europe presented evidence of severe anti-union practices at the POSCO Assan plant in Turkey, where court rulings confirmed that workers were unlawfully dismissed for engaging in union activities, and police violence was used against protesting union members. The incident underscores ongoing labor rights violations and a pattern of union busting at the facility.

POSCO's labor practices in Turkey have come under fire after reports detailed the dismissal of 80 workers in 2017 amid union organizing efforts, followed by the company's refusal to engage in collective bargaining with the officially recognized Birleşik Metal İş union. Despite court rulings and intervention by Turkish labor authorities, POSCO has misrepresented its commitment to labor rights in its ESG report.