HD Hyundai Heavy Industries union rejects management proposal, to strike and negotiate in parallel starting tomorrow

[Financial News] The Hyundai Heavy Industries branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU) rejected management's proposal on the 1st, a day before its planned partial strike. As a result, the union will begin partial strikes on the 2nd while continuing wage negotiations.
According to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and the union, management presented a proposal at the 18th round of main wage talks that day, but the union turned it down, leaving the two sides unable to reach an agreement.
The union will therefore launch the strike it approved on the 27th of last month starting on the 2nd. It will begin with a seven-hour partial strike involving executive officers, negotiators and delegates, and each affiliated unit will take turns joining partial strikes through the 10th. Normal operations will continue on the 3rd and 7th, while all members will take part in a four-hour partial strike on the 15th.
Although the partial strikes will go ahead, both sides say the talks have not broken down. Because this was only the company's first proposal, further negotiations are expected, with the union set to present an alternative and management then offering a follow-up proposal based on it.
A union official said, "We rejected management's first proposal, so the talks have not broken down yet." An HD Hyundai Heavy Industries official also explained, "It is not a breakdown. The first proposal was rejected, and negotiations will continue even as partial strikes begin tomorrow."
The fact that management made its first proposal during the talks suggests that negotiations are gaining momentum. Industry observers also expect the impact of the partial strikes to be limited, given the shipbuilding industry's segmented production process.
Still, the company cannot avoid the stigma of strikes for a fourth consecutive year since 2023. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and the union reached a wage agreement without a strike in 2022, the first such settlement in nine years. But strikes resumed in 2023 and have continued every year since.
In this year's negotiations, the union demanded a monthly base-pay increase of 149,600 won, a 100% rise in bonuses, and performance sharing equal to at least 30% of operating profit. Management's proposal included a 105,000 won increase in base pay, 10 million won in incentive pay, a 200% bonus increase, and performance-based payments.
[email protected] Kim Yoon-ho Reporter