Accepting so many orders, so many people, and no salary increase, this job can't be done!
In the face of the tough attitude of the employers, the all-out strike at Hyundai Heavy Industries, which began on April 27, not only did not stop, but the war continued to spread and escalate. Today, in addition to Hyundai Heavy Industries, the trade unions of seven other major shipyards in South Korea have also announced their participation in the "team" to conduct a joint strike with Hyundai Heavy Industries.
How much to live? Hyundai Heavy Industries Labor Union "leads" seven major South Korean shipyards to join the "team"
On May 4, the Hyundai Heavy Industry Union held a dispute resolution committee and decided to conduct a three-day partial strike from May 6 to 10, and a three-day general strike from May 11 to 13. The schedule after the 13th will be decided in the future, and the strike time may continue to be extended.
On May 2, the Federation of Korean Shipbuilding Trade Unions held a press conference at the Press Center of Ulsan City Hall and announced: "In order to save the Korean shipbuilding industry, we will conduct a joint strike struggle with Hyundai Heavy Industries."
The Korea Shipbuilding Trade Union Confederation was established in May 2015. It consists of trade unions of 8 shipyards including Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Mipo Shipbuilding, Daewoo Shipbuilding, Samsung Heavy Industries, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, Seongdong Shipbuilding & Marine, STX Shipbuilding & Marine, and HJ Heavy Industries. composition. The union includes almost three major Korean shipbuilding giants and other major Korean shipyards.
In order to protest the employer's rejection of the union's request to resume negotiations on the collective wage agreement in 2021, the Hyundai Heavy Industry Union convened a dispute resolution committee on April 25 and announced a general strike from April 27 to May 4. On April 27, the trade union of Hyundai Heavy Industries organized more than 8,000 members of the company's trade unions to gather on the main road of the Ulsan Shipyard and start a sit-in demonstration. In this regard, the company said tit-for-tat that if a strike is forced, it will completely withdraw the agreement on unsolved issues including the reinstatement of the dismissal, and will also take stern measures against all illegal acts that occur during the strike.
It is understood that after the South Korean shipbuilding industry laid off a large number of workers due to lack of orders in the mid-to-late 2010s, there was a serious shortage of workers. South Korean labor market data shows that the number of workers in the Korean shipbuilding industry has plummeted from about 200,000 in 2014 to about 90,000 in 2021, and due to the difficulty of automating many construction parts of the shipbuilding process, such as assembling internal equipment, This means that the new workforce cannot fully fill the gap.
In addition, most of the Korean shipbuilding companies are concentrated in the southeastern part of South Korea, far from the capital Seoul and close to the northern border. South Korean workers can earn higher wages in high-tech industries such as semiconductors, internet services and video games, while shipbuilding is now a less popular industry in South Korea. Shipyards also have difficulty recruiting young workers due to geographic issues.
The Korean Federation of Shipbuilding Trade Unions pointed out: "When the crisis was triggered by the downturn in the shipbuilding market in previous years, the shipyard management ignored the calls and demands of the labor unions and unilaterally laid off a large number of employees, resulting in the current manpower shortage crisis. Those who remain are also unhappy with the prolonged freeze on base salaries, reduced bonuses and the prospect of layoffs at any time."
It is reported that after the press conference on the same day, the Korea Federation of Shipbuilding Industry Trade Unions immediately held an emergency representative meeting of the eight shipyard trade unions to discuss fundraising for the struggle fund, a joint rally, and a general strike plan.
