A tentative wage and collective bargaining agreement at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180) was voted down by union members on the 2nd. The union is expected to escalate industrial action and return to the bargaining table.
The HD Hyundai Heavy Industries labor union said a ballot of all 8,100 members was held that day, and 3,932 of the 7,541 who voted, or 52.14%, opposed the agreement, rejecting it. The approval rate was 47.58%.
The tentative deal included a 120,000-won monthly increase in base pay including seniority-based step raises, a lump-sum payment of 11 million won plus an additional 200%, performance bonuses, expanded awards for long-serving employees and new hiring of production technicians this year. Management and the union estimated the combined value of the base pay increase, lump-sum payment and bonuses at 40.56 million won, the highest ever and 10.61 million won more than last year, but members did not back it.
The size of the fixed-pay increase falling short of members' expectations is seen as the main reason for the rejection. In the 2024 and last year's rounds of bargaining, the two sides agreed to base pay increases of 130,000 won and 135,000 won respectively, but this year's increase came to just 120,000 won. Observers say another factor was the decision by Samsung Heavy Industries (010140) and its union to raise base pay by 131,786 won this year, despite the company posting weaker earnings than HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
The union is expected to step up industrial action to extract a revised offer with a larger increase in fixed pay, including base pay. During this year's negotiations, the union pressed management with seven rounds of partial strikes involving all members. With the tentative deal now rejected, there is talk of stronger action, including a full strike.
An HD Hyundai Heavy Industries official said, "We find it regrettable that a tentative agreement at the highest level in the shipbuilding industry did not win the support of union members," adding, "In future negotiations, we will continue to seek solutions that take into account both reasonable compensation for performance and sustainable competitiveness."
