Labor and management at HD Hyundai Heavy Industry have reached a second tentative agreement on this year's wage and collective bargaining (wage and collective bargaining). After the first tentative agreement was rejected in a member vote, they resumed negotiations and ultimately found a new point of agreement under conditions that include an additional one-time payment of 500,000 won.
According to shipbuilding industry sources on the 23rd, HD Hyundai Heavy Industry labor and management derived a second tentative agreement for this year's wage and collective bargaining on the same day, featuring a base salary increase of 120,000 won (including a seniority-based raise of 55,000 won), a one-time payment of 11.5 million won including an incentive bonus, and a 200% payout. This comes 23 days after the first tentative agreement was reached on the 30th of last month. The union plans to hold a vote for or against the second tentative agreement among all members on the 26th.
A notable feature of this agreement is that the one-time payment has increased by 50,000 won compared to the first tentative agreement. The total base salary increase remains at 120,000 won, but the seniority-based raise portion has increased by 5,000 won from before. The collective bargaining agreement and employment rules will be integrated based on HD Hyundai Heavy Industry standards, while reflecting certain conditions favorable to members, such as the 14th-day retirement consolation leave previously offered at former HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. Severance pay will be calculated based on three consecutive months chosen by the worker out of the four months preceding the date the calculation reason arises, and 300,000 welfare points will also be provided.
A special agreement on industrial transition was also signed to respond to automation and digitalization in the shipbuilding industry. The agreement stipulates that if matters potentially affecting employment arise, the company will explain the relevant content in advance and discuss employment stability measures through a joint labor-management consultation body.
Previously, after beginning negotiations with an introductory meeting on June 2, labor and management reached a first tentative agreement on the 30th of last month, which included a base salary increase of 120,000 won, a 200% incentive bonus, and a one-time payment of 11 million won. However, negotiations returned to square one after the member vote held on the 2nd of this month resulted in rejection with 52.14% opposition.
Subsequently, labor and management engaged in re-negotiations on the 13th and 15th of this month but failed to derive an additional agreement. The union demanded a base salary increase of 149,600 won (excluding seniority-based raises) and a 100% increase in bonuses, while management maintained that its existing proposal was at the highest level in the shipbuilding industry, preventing them from narrowing their differences.
As negotiations faced difficulties, the union escalated its strike intensity. The HD Hyundai Heavy Industry branch of the National Metalworkers' Federation decided to conduct partial strikes for seven hours a day over five days, targeting all members, from the 19th until that day. Initially, four-hour strikes involving officials and others were planned for the 19th and 20th, and seven-hour strikes targeting all members for the 21st through 23rd, but both the scope of participants and duration were expanded from the first day.
Kim Dong-ha, head of the HD Hyundai Heavy Industry branch, began an indefinite high-altitude protest on the 18th by climbing a crane approximately 25 meters high inside Large Assembly Plant 1 at the Ulsan headquarters. The union had planned to hold a joint press conference with the Hanwha Ocean union at the Metalworkers' Federation meeting room in Jung-gu, Seoul, at 1 p.m. that day to demand improved treatment for workers due to the shipbuilding boom, but the second tentative agreement was derived ahead of the conference. Consequently, Branch Head Kim's high-altitude protest was lifted after five days.
An official from HD Hyundai Heavy Industry stated, "Since labor and management have once again reached a tentative agreement through negotiations, we hope this agreement leads to a smooth settlement."
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