HD Hyundai Heavy Industries labor union entered the procedures for a strike after failing to reach an agreement with the company on wages and collective agreements (wage negotiations) this year. The HD Hyundai Heavy Industries union stated that despite more than 11 rounds of negotiations, they have been unable to narrow their differences with the company and declared a shift to a strike struggle.
According to the shipbuilding industry on the 27th, the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries union will conduct a strike vote over three days starting from the 2nd of next month. If a majority of the approximately 6,600 union members vote in favor, they will be able to conduct legally recognized strike actions after mediation by the labor committee.
In addition to the strike vote, the union plans to apply for dispute mediation to the Central Labor Relations Commission. If HD Hyundai Heavy Industries proceeds with a strike this year, it will be the third consecutive year.
Since May, both sides of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries have been engaged in main negotiations and technical discussions, but they have not been able to narrow their positions. The union demands a basic wage increase of 141,300 won, extension of the retirement age, abolition of the wage peak system, new hiring, payment of longevity bonuses (10,000 won per year), and improvement of treatment for subcontracted workers.
The company stated that it is difficult to reach an agreement on extending the retirement age and abolishing the wage peak system because government policies have not been established, and they propose to create a task force (TF) to discuss matters such as longevity bonuses.
The union noted, "Despite 11 rounds of negotiations, we have not reached meaningful discussions and are just going around in circles. We will concentrate the anger of our members and shift to a strike struggle." One union member said, "We need to shake up the processes during the boom period to secure our demands. Once we secure the right to strike, we should go straight into a strike."
After successfully switching to a profit in 2023, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries recorded sales of 14.4865 trillion won and an operating profit of 705.2 billion won last year. Securities analysts expect this year's sales to reach 15.8 trillion won and an operating profit of 1.865 trillion won.