On July 18, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries labor and management reached a tentative agreement on this year's wage negotiations, centered on raising the monthly base salary by 133,000 won (including a 35,000 won step increase). The tentative agreement also includes a 5.2 million won incentive payment, a special bonus equivalent to 100% of the agreed wage, and performance bonuses based on set criteria.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries union is counting the votes of all union members on whether to strike due to difficulties in this year's labor negotiations in the union conference room on the 4th of this month. Photo by Yonhap News
The labor and management held their 14th round of negotiations at the Ulsan headquarters on the same day and produced this tentative agreement. This comes 59 days after the initial negotiation meeting on May 20.
The union plans to hold a vote among all union members on July 22 regarding the tentative agreement. If a majority of voters approve, this year's wage negotiations will be fully concluded.
Labor and management have been in conflict over the scale and method of compensation. While both sides agreed on the need to "inject funds" to encourage and motivate union members, the company focused on increasing variable pay such as incentives and performance bonuses, whereas the union prioritized raising the base salary to ensure the sustainability of wage increases, resulting in differences of opinion.
Since July 11, the union has held a total of four partial strikes. Baek Hoseon, the union branch chief who began a hunger strike on July 9, was transported to the hospital on July 18, the tenth day, due to deteriorating health.
The conclusion of the tentative agreement on this day is seen as stemming from concerns that prolonged negotiations amid ongoing strikes and the branch chief's hunger strike could further deteriorate labor-management relations and cause the company to miss out on the shipbuilding industry's boom period.
The tentative agreement raises the base salary by 3,000 won more than last year's settlement.
The company estimated the total amount of variable pay?including incentives, special bonuses, and performance bonuses?at an average of about 27 million won per union member. Both the scale of the base salary increase and variable pay are said to be the largest in the company's history.
A representative from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries stated, "After numerous discussions and difficulties, labor and management have reached a tentative agreement to meet the expectations on the ground," adding, "We hope that reaching an agreement before the summer holidays will serve as a meaningful starting point for building a relationship of trust and harmony between labor and management."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
