Union Leader Launches Crane Sit-in at Hyundai Heavy Industries' Ulsan Yard
The head of one of the labor unions at Hyundai Heavy Industries has begun a sit-in on top of a crane at HHI's shipyard in Ulsan, the local branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union said in a statement. The protest comes after months of unsuccessful negotiations on a new collective bargaining contract; the talks have yet to produce a deal that the rank and file will accept, and the KMWU has called a five-day partial strike extending through the 23rd.
The boom in global shipbuilding orders, strengthened pricing power and full order backlogs have boosted the finances of East Asian shipbuilders, and the newfound availability of money at Korea's Big Three shipyards is not lost on their labor unions. In a statement, the HHI local of the KMWU - part of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the country's biggest unions - said that it sought a larger share of the strengthened profits from the resurgence of the shipbuilding industry.
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The union wants to see more emphasis on safety following a string of fatal accidents, including three deaths in July alone (across all of HHI's facilities).It also seeks better benefits, and an end to alleged discrimination against subcontractors and migrant workers, who are increasingly important to Korean shipbuilding.
To highlight the union's demands, KMWU HHI branch chief Kim Dong-ha began a sit-in at 1700 hours on Sunday, taking up a position on a tower crane at the HHI Ulsan Large Assembly Plant 1. Kim's primary message is to press HHI to conclude a successful contract negotiating round after months of attempts. The union's members narrowly rejected the last deal that its leadership reached with HHI's management.
