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UPDATE 1-S.Korea unions hold warning strike over labour bill

(Adds details on strike action, government comment)

SEOUL, Aug 19 (Reuters) - South Korea's top trade union group said on Tuesday that some of its members had staged a partial strike to protest against a government move to revise a labour bill.

However, with a parliamentary vote on the revised bill likely to be delayed until later this month, the scale of the industrial action was limited, the union and the government said.

"Only seven trade groups, including metals, taxi drivers and chemicals are on a strike this morning and most withdrew the plan as the voting may be postponed to August 28," a spokesman at the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) said by telephone.

The National Assembly plans to vote this month on a government proposal to introduce a five-day work week. Labour unions fear a shorter work week may lead to lower wages and unfavourable working conditions.

But enacting the bill has been slow as lawmakers from the ruling and opposition party have failed to narrow differences over key issues such as when to introduce the five-day work week and whether to cut holidays to compensate for reduced work days.

The labour ministry said the industrial action had hit the country's second-biggest car maker, but overall the impact was expected to be minimal.

"Most trade unions haven't yet downed tools but workers at Kia Motors Corp are holding a partial strike," said an official at the labour ministry.

The FKTU, which has 940,000 members, had proposed to hold a half day strike on Tuesday morning and another smaller trade union group, the Korean Confederation of Trade unions (KCTU), was due to hold another strike in the afternoon, the two groups said on Monday.

Labour unrest in South Korea, which has some of the world's most militant trade unions, came under the spotlight this year as the new centre-left government of President Roh Moo-hyun, a former labour lawyer, was perceived to be soft on labour.

South Korea plans to unveil a five-year plan by October to bring labour-management relations more closely into line with global standards as a wave of labour unrests threaten the economy, which already faces weak domestic spending and fears over North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

"Stable labour-management relations are needed to revive corporate investment, as it has yet to recover, despite lower interest rates and tax cuts," economists said on Tuesday at a meeting with the central bank governor, Park Seung.

Foreign investors frequently say labour relations -- including strikes and stoppages -- are one of the main barriers to doing business in Asia's fourth-largest economy.