Hyundai Steel's labor union will resume its strike on the 13th. This comes as the company lifted the workplace closure imposed on the Dangjin Steelworks cold rolling plant, allowing labor and management to restart negotiations for 2024 wages and collective agreements, but the talks broke down again. The decision regarding whether to reinstate the lifted workplace closure has not yet been made.
According to Hyundai Steel, during the 23rd main negotiations held that day, management presented the same proposal as before. Management had previously offered a base salary increase of 450% along with a fixed bonus of 10 million won, which the union rejected. The union deemed further negotiations meaningless and decided to strike starting from that evening shift.
The Dangjin Steelworks, where the workplace closure was imposed, will carry out strikes on the continuous galvanizing line (CGL) of the cold rolling plant. Prior to the workplace closure, a strike was underway at the pickling line/tandem cold mill (PL/TCM) of the hot rolling process. It is also reported that the Suncheon cold rolling plant, which had been conducting partial strikes, will resume its strike.
The union's return to strike came just one day after the company lifted the workplace closure decided for the Dangjin Steelworks on the 12th. The company had decided on its first-ever workplace closure in response to the union's strike on the 24th of last month, stating that if the PL/TCM facilities were not operational, operations across all cold rolling processes would inevitably halt, leading to business deterioration. The ongoing strike at the hot rolling process will also inevitably disrupt cold rolling production, but a decision on workplace closure has not yet been made.
Hyundai Steel and the labor union have been negotiating since September of last year, but have not been able to reach an agreement even after over 23 main negotiations. The union has rejected the company's proposal of a 450% increase in the base salary along with a fixed bonus of 10 million won and is demanding the highest level of bonuses within the group. The union's demand for bonuses is reported to be at a base salary of 500% along with a fixed 18 million won.
The inability of management to present a new proposal amid prolonged labor-management conflict is attributed to business deterioration. Hyundai Steel announced in January that it recorded a revenue of 23.2261 trillion won and an operating profit of 314.4 billion won last year, marking declines of 10.4% and 60.6%, respectively, from the previous year. Subsequently, on the 24th of last month, the company announced a reduction of 80% in its operating profit to 15.95 billion won, reflecting the bonus proposal.
Seo Kang-hyun, president of Hyundai Steel, previously appealed in a statement, saying, "The company's performance has declined to a serious level, but the company has presented the maximum bonus that exceeds a bearable level, and I earnestly ask for your strength and wisdom in quickly concluding collective negotiations through dialogue and compromise to navigate the imminent crisis."