Labor talks at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean hit impasse amid wage negotiations and subcontractor bargaining

[Financial News] Labor talks between HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean are facing difficulties. In addition to differences over performance-based compensation for employees, disputes with subcontractor unions over bargaining agendas and working conditions continue.
According to industry sources on the 15th, labor and management at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries resumed negotiations at their 23rd main bargaining session on the 13th. The meeting came 11 days after union members rejected the provisional agreement in a vote on the 2nd. No additional wage-related offer has been made yet, and talks are scheduled to continue that day.
The two sides had earlier reached a provisional agreement that included a 120,000-won increase in base pay, a lump-sum payment of 11 million won, and a support payment equivalent to 200% of agreed wages to strengthen competitiveness in securing orders. However, it failed to win the union members’ approval. The union has identified a wage system centered on stable fixed pay and the integration of collective agreements with those of the former HD Hyundai Mipo as key priorities. Resolving the differences in working conditions that remain after the merger is also a major issue.
Subcontractor bargaining has been stalled from the outset. The parties have not even held an initial meeting in the more than six months since the March 21 notice confirming the unions seeking bargaining. The company says it is willing to negotiate six agenda items, including vacation allowances, scholarship programs, and industrial safety. The subcontractor union, by contrast, is demanding that three more items be added: performance bonuses, employment security, and guarantees for union activities. The company has asked the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s Collective Bargaining Determination Support Committee for an interpretation of the additional agenda items, while the subcontractor union has said it plans to seek mediation from the Regional Labor Relations Commission.
Hanwha Ocean also needs to resolve negotiations over regular employees’ wages and collective agreements as well as subcontractor bargaining. On the 7th, the company proposed a 138,689-won increase in base pay, a lump-sum payment of 7.5 million won, and annual welfare points worth 1 million won, among other terms. But it has failed to find common ground with the union, which is seeking a 149,600-won increase in base pay, expanded bonuses, and a higher retirement age. Since the 8th, Kim Yu-cheol, head of the Hanwha Ocean branch, has been staging a high-altitude sit-in on a crane at the Hanwha Ocean Geoje Shipyard to apply pressure.
The first round of bargaining with the prime contractor was held with the subcontractor union on the 8th, and a second round is scheduled for 2 p.m. today. The Geoje-Tongyeong-Goseong Shipbuilding Subcontractors’ Branch and the Welliv Branch are taking part in the negotiations. The subcontractor unions are calling for an end to disparities in performance bonuses, participation by subcontractor workers in safety matters, and guarantees for union activities, including access to offices.
Hanwha Ocean says bargaining should be kept separate from the occupation of facilities. It called for discussions to continue at the negotiating table, saying future investment burdens must also be considered alongside improvements to wages and welfare. The company argued that the occupation of the crane could affect not only the safety of those staging the sit-in and workers, but also ship production, launch, and delivery schedules.
The government is also keeping a close eye on the situation. At a parliamentary audit the previous day, Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon expressed concern about the high-altitude sit-in by Hanwha Ocean’s prime-contractor and subcontractor workers and said he would visit the site if necessary.
[email protected] Jeong Won-il Reporter