The industrial action by the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries labor union is dragging on. Analysts say the agenda has only grown as this year's wage and collective bargaining agreement has yet to be concluded, while the merger with HD Hyundai Mipo and the establishment of an investment-focused affiliate in Singapore were announced.
On top of this, collective bargaining by the in-house subcontractors' chapter at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries also broke down, raising the risk of a strike by the subcontractors' union. Some say the union's strike could negatively affect the MASGA (Make America Shipbuilding Great Again) project that HD Hyundai is pursuing with the United States.
As of the 11th, according to the shipbuilding industry, the tent sit-in by the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries union at the HD Hyundai GRC Center has passed 64 days. The tent sit-in began after talks between labor and management broke down in Jul., and the union secured the right to strike following a filing with the Labor Relations Commission.
The HD Hyundai Heavy Industries union has also been staging partial strikes. From the 9th through the 12th, it is holding a seven-hour strike, and on the 12th it plans to stage a rally at the HD Hyundai GRC Center in the capital. The union's strike is the tenth since Jul. 11.
In this year's wage and collective bargaining talks that began in May, the union is demanding a 141,300 won increase in base pay (excluding step increases), an extension of the retirement age, and changes to the performance bonus calculation standard. A tentative agreement calling for a 133,000 won increase in base pay and a 5.2 million won encouragement bonus was drafted, but it was voted down after failing to win a majority in a vote by union members. As a result, asserting the need to push through its demands, the union has held 24 rounds of talks.
After HD Hyundai Heavy Industries announced a merger with HD Hyundai Mipo, the union said forced reassignments and other job insecurity were intensifying, and it is demanding that management provide detailed merger data and draft an "employment stability agreement." It also argues that talks must be held on HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the intermediate holding company for the institutional sector of shipbuilding, establishing an investment company in Singapore.
As talks between labor and management at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries drag on, the risk of a strike by the in-house subcontractors' chapter is also rising. This is because collective bargaining by six in-house subcontractors that had been underway since May broke down.
The in-house subcontractors' chapter pursued collective bargaining in response to calls for wage cuts in some institutional sectors even during this year's boom in the shipbuilding industry. When Taeyoung Engineering began collective bargaining in May, talks were held for the first time in nine years, but they failed to conclude a collective agreement.
The in-house subcontractors' chapter filed for mediation with the Labor Relations Commission, saying talks were not making progress due to management's neglect of bargaining. Their plan is to hold a strike vote as soon as mediation is accepted, secure the right to strike, and then launch collective action.
Some observers also warn that a prolonged union strike could disrupt the MASGA project. A HD Hyundai Heavy Industries official said, "Prolonged strikes leave only scars for both the company and its members," adding, "At a time of fierce global competition, labor and management must seek a path of mutual growth through dialogue for the future."