HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' labor union has moved toward a strike after months of deadlocked wage and collective bargaining talks this year.
The union at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180) said on the 27th at the company's headquarters in Ulsan that a strike motion passed with 66.18% of all members voting in favor.
Of the union's 8,127 members, 5,607 cast ballots in the vote held from the 25th through the 27th, a turnout of 68.99%. The count showed 5,379 votes in favor (95.93%), 219 against (3.91%) and nine invalid ballots (0.16%).
The result gives the union the legal right to strike. Labor and management held 17 rounds of talks over nearly three months, starting with an initial meeting in June, without narrowing their differences. The National Labor Relations Commission on the 24th confirmed the gap between the two sides and decided to suspend mediation.
In this year's talks, the union is demanding a 149,600 won increase in base pay, excluding seniority-based raises, a 100% increase in bonuses and the sharing of at least 30% of operating profit with workers. The company has yet to present a proposal. The union said it would monitor the course of the negotiations for now before convening its dispute committee to decide whether to walk out.
An HD Hyundai Heavy Industries official said, "We will engage in the talks in good faith to narrow the differences between labor and management."
