With HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ wage and collective bargaining agreement approved in a union vote, this year’s wage talks in the shipbuilding industry have wrapped up. Although management and labor at each company reached deals at record-high levels, there was no content addressing improved treatment for subcontracted workers, which shipbuilding unions had initially put forward as their rationale.

In the industry, some analyze that the primary contractors’ unions have, for years, raised the improvement of subcontracted workers’ treatment as one of their bargaining demands as a strategy to push through other demands.

According to the industry on the 23rd, the Shipbuilding Industry Union Solidarity (Chosun Noyeon) demanded in this year’s wage talks:

• guaranteeing the right to stop work and joint responses to serious industrial accidents
• guaranteeing industry-level bargaining and union activities
• extending the retirement age and securing new personnel
• improving the principal–subcontractor structure (regularizing in-house partner workers) and consulting on measures for migrant workers. Chosun Noyeon is an organization whose member unions include seven shipbuilding companies, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean, and Samsung Heavy Industries.

However, such demands were not reflected in this year’s wage agreements at major shipbuilders including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Hanwha Ocean. Management and labor at Hanwha Ocean agreed on a wage deal centering on a 123,000 won increase in base pay, a lump-sum payment of 5.2 million won, the introduction of one special day off, and post-retirement fixed-term rehiring.

Management and labor at Samsung Heavy Industries agreed on a wage deal centered on a 133,196 won increase in base pay and a lump-sum payment of 5 million won. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries decided to raise base pay by 135,000 won, pay a 5.2 million won encouragement bonus, and provide a 100% special incentive.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, together with HD Hyundai Mipo and HD Hyundai Samho—shipbuilding affiliates under HD Hyundai—put forward “improving the treatment of subcontracted workers” as a joint demand, but it was not reflected. They called for wage increases for subcontracted workers, equal performance bonuses, guarantees of union activities, and the abolition of blacklists.

Improving the treatment of subcontracted workers has been continuously demanded since Chosun Noyeon was launched in 2015, but it was not achieved this year either. The labor community argues that it was not accepted because management is reluctant to take responsibility and unionization rates among subcontracted workers are low. A union official said, “No matter how much the union argues, ultimately the shipbuilder as the principal contractor needs to think more proactively.”

In the industry, there is also analysis that primary contractors’ unions demand improved treatment for subcontracted workers in order to push through their own demands. A labor attorney said, “A principal employer with multiple subcontractors can’t help but be passive about demands to improve subcontracted workers’ treatment,” adding, “It may be a strategy to push through other demands when unions call for improving the treatment of subcontracted workers, which is likely not a mandatory bargaining subject.”
Source: ChosunBiz