Hyundai Heavy Workers Stage Strike Due to Wage Dispute

Workers at South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries have scheduled partial strikes this week due to little progress made in wage negotiations with management.

Yonhap New Agency, cited the shipbuilder’s labor union as saying that the works would stop for four to seven hours per day in the period from October 23 to 25.

The decision was made after the labor union’s latest round of wage talks with the company ended without an agreement on October 22. The union’s demands include raising the basic monthly wage by KRW 123,000 won (USD 105).

The negotiations commenced in May and are reportedly expected to continue for a while as the shipyard struggles to win more orders.

During the first eight months of the year, Hyundai Heavy secured shipbuilding contracts for 17 vessels worth a total of USD 2.17 billion. The number represents less than a third, 27.1 percent, of the shipbuilder’s annual goal of USD 8 billion, Yonhap cited industry data.

World Maritime News Staff