ULSAN, South Korea, July 24 (UPI) -- Workers at South Korea's Hyundai Motor Company voted Saturday to accept a new contract and avoid a strike, Hyundai and the union announced.

About 58 percent of the 42,286 members of the union approved the package, which included a pay raise and a bonus payment.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said the new contract headed off a strike at Hyundai's main plant in Ulsan, which has been hit by strikes on virtually a yearly basis since 1987.

"The approval marks a new milestone for Hyundai's labor-management relationship," Hyundai Vice President Kang do-han told reporters.