[Edaily Reporter Park Min-woong ] The Hyosung Heavy Industries Office and Technical Staff Labor Union has announced its first full-scale strike since its formation. With labor-management disagreements over wage increases and performance bonus criteria remaining unresolved, the conflict shows signs of escalating into collective action. Although major companies in the shipbuilding industry have finalized their wage and collective bargaining agreements, negotiations with subcontractor unions are facing difficulties. Similarly, the steel industry is awaiting a union member vote on a tentative agreement, meaning the seeds of labor-management conflict remain across the heavy industry sector as a whole.
According to industry sources on the 3rd, the Hyosung Heavy Industries white-collar union will launch a 72-hour full-scale strike from midnight on the 4th until midnight on the 6th. This will be the union’s first strike since its formation last June. The union is demanding increased compensation, including wages and performance bonuses, and has warned of further collective action in the future.
On the 23rd of last month, the union declared that wage and collective bargaining negotiations with the company had broken down and filed for mediation with the Labor Relations Commission. Although labor and management held several rounds of negotiations starting on August 21, they were unable to bridge their differences regarding issues such as base salary increases and performance bonus criteria. On the 2nd of this month, the union received a decision from the Gyeongnam Regional Labor Relations Commission to suspend mediation, thereby securing the right to strike. Currently, the union has 1,473 members.
The core of the labor-management conflict is the expansion of compensation in line with performance growth. Hyosung Heavy Industries’ consolidated operating profit last year was 747 billion won, an increase of approximately 106% compared to the previous year. Operating profit for the first half of this year also rose 56.3% year-over-year to 416.6 billion won. In contrast, the union argues that the cumulative nominal wage increase rate for 2022–2025 was 10.3%, which fell short of the 13.7% consumer price inflation rate during the same period. Consequently, the union is demanding a 10% annual increase in base pay, the introduction of productivity improvement (PI) incentives, and the disclosure of performance bonus payment criteria.
While expressing regret over the union’s decision to strike, management maintains that there will be no disruption to production. In particular, the company stated that since this strike is a labor dispute initiated by the office and technical staff union—and does not involve skilled workers on the production floor—the Changwon plant plans to operate as usual. Hyosung Heavy Industries stated, “We will not make concessions without principles or accept unilateral demands made under the pressure of a strike, and we plan to respond in accordance with the law and established principles,” adding, “We will conduct negotiations in accordance with the law and proper procedures while maintaining reasonable principles regarding the union’s demands.”
This year, conflicts over wages and profit sharing have persisted across various sectors of the heavy industry. In the shipbuilding industry, the three major shipbuilders—HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean, and Samsung Heavy Industries—have all settled their annual wage and collective bargaining agreements this year, overcoming a major hurdle; however, conflicts with subcontractor unions remain. Hanwha Ocean is conducting separate negotiations with subcontractor unions, including the Geoje-Tongyeong-Goseong Shipbuilding Subcontractors Branch of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union and the Wellive Branch. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has not even been able to finalize a negotiation schedule with its subcontractor unions.
In the steel industry as well, the embers of labor-management conflict still smolder. POSCO’s management and labor averted the threat of an indefinite strike on the 30th of last month by reaching a tentative agreement centered on a 2.6% increase in base pay and a one-time payment of 6 million won. However, if the agreement is rejected in a union member vote scheduled for the 7th, the possibility that the union will resume striking cannot be ruled out.
An industry official stated, “While wage and collective bargaining negotiations at major workplaces are wrapping up one after another, conflicts over profit sharing and working conditions remain,” adding, “With issues surrounding negotiations between prime contractors and subcontractors also coming into play, there is a possibility that labor-management conflicts could drag on.”
