posco AMERICA

- Union leader stresses trust, communication with employees

POSCO-Mexico signed a new agreement with the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) on a work shift revamp, which will introduce a two four-group shifts system for its factory workers, on Aug. 16. CTM Secretary of Political Action and Mexican Senator Carlos Aceves del Olmo attended the signing ceremony.

``This new work shift system, introduced by POSCO-Mexico, is hard to be found elsewhere in the country,`` Olmo said. ``I`ll wait in expectation to see what this new change will bring in the future.

``What really matters is sufficient communication and trust between the company and its employees, rather than the shift system,`` he added, stressing the significance of mutual communication on the way to a two-shift system from the previous three-shift one.

The top union official also said he will be willing to spearhead legislative efforts for the three-shift system in revision of the Mexican labor law scheduled for next year, as well as recommend the new system to other local companies, if he further studies the POSCO-Mexico cases and thinks it is worth expanding.

Prior to the shift revamp, POSCO-Mexico took time to listen to workers` opinions since April. The communication efforts also ran parallel with the improvement of the work environment in the company, including additional workers in underperforming departments and providing manufacturers in high-temperature workplaces with various cooling devices.

By Kim Jun-yeon
junykim@posco.com

* POSCO-Mexico signed a new deal with the Confederation of Mexican Workers on a work shift revamp, which will introduce a two four-group shifts system for its factory workers, on Aug. 16.