HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180) and its union have reached a final deal on this year's wage and collective bargaining agreement, 147 days after talks began and after 11 rounds of strikes and a crane sit-in.
The Hyundai Heavy Industries chapter of the Korean Metal Workers' Union said on the 27th that the second tentative agreement passed, with 4,253 members, or 55.06%, voting in favor. Of the chapter's 8,193 members, 7,724 cast ballots. The vote came 147 days after the first bargaining session on June 2. The agreement includes a 120,000-won increase in base pay, which covers a 55,000-won seniority-step raise, a lump-sum payment of 11.5 million won plus 200% of monthly pay in incentives and other one-off money, and 300,000 won in welfare points.
Negotiations at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries were contentious throughout the year. Ahead of the June 2 opening session, the union submitted demands built around paying out at least 30% of operating profit as performance bonuses. It also sought a 149,600-won monthly increase in base pay excluding the seniority-step raise, an additional 100% increase in bonuses, and a 2 billion won contribution to operating costs for running and maintaining recreational facilities for members. When management proposed revising the demands, saying it needed to secure funding for investment in future businesses, the talks stalled.
The two sides held 17 main bargaining sessions through the end of August without narrowing their differences. After the National Labor Relations Commission decided on the 24th of that month to halt mediation, the union held a strike vote and secured the right to walk out with 66.18% of eligible members in favor. Starting on Sept. 2, the union escalated from a partial strike centered on executive officers and delegates to partial strikes involving all members.
After the Chuseok holiday, the two sides reached a first tentative agreement on Sept. 29 following 14 hours of marathon talks, about 120 days after the opening session. That agreement called for a 120,000-won increase in base pay, including a 50,000-won seniority-step raise, and a lump-sum payment of 11 million won plus 200% of monthly pay. But in a vote on the 2nd of this month, in which 7,541 of 8,100 members took part, 3,932 members, or 52.14%, voted against, rejecting the deal.
Tensions escalated after the rejection. With renewed talks going nowhere, Kim Dong-ha, head of the Metal Workers' Union's Hyundai Heavy Industries chapter, climbed a 25-meter crane at the No. 1 assembly plant at the company's Ulsan headquarters on the 18th of this month. The union at the time also staged seven-hour partial strikes for all members. After a total of 11 strikes and the crane sit-in, Kim came down from the crane when a second tentative agreement was reached on the 23rd. The second agreement added 5,000 won to the seniority-step raise and 500,000 won to the lump-sum payment compared with the earlier deal.
The settlement allows the company to put the labor dispute behind it and speed up shipbuilding. The union estimated that the agreement will deliver an average of 41.36 million won per member.
An official at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said the settlement "laid the groundwork for stable wage increases and performance-based compensation, and became a meaningful opportunity to overhaul the collective agreement following the merger with HD Hyundai Mipo." The official added, "We will continue to listen more closely to voices on the shop floor and take the lead in building a vibrant and harmonious organizational culture."
