HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Tentative Wage Agreement Rejected as 52% of Union Members Vote Against It (Comprehensive)

Includes a 120,000 Won Increase in Base Salary

The tentative wage and collective bargaining agreement prepared by the labor and management of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries was rejected in a vote by union members. Although the parties presented an agreement that increased the total compensation package by 10,610,000 won compared to last year, a majority of union members voted against it.

The labor union of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries conducted a four-hour partial strike on the 11th of last month due to difficulties in this year's wage and collective agreement negotiations. Union members participating in the strike are seen chanting slogans. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Labor Union (Hyundai Heavy Industries branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union) on October 2, a total of 7,541 out of 8,100 union members (a turnout of 93.1%) participated in the vote on the tentative agreement held the previous day. Of these, 3,932 members (52.14%) voted against the deal, resulting in its rejection. The approval rate was calculated at 47.58%.

The tentative agreement included a 120,000 won increase in base salary (including seniority raises), a one-time bonus of 11,000,000 won, a 200% performance bonus, expanded long-term service rewards, and recruitment of production and technical workers. The labor and management estimated the total compensation package to be worth 40,560,000 won, an increase of 10,610,000 won compared to last year.

With this rejection, the labor and management must enter into additional negotiations. This marks the 11th consecutive year since 2016 that the tentative agreement at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has been voted down in the first round of voting.

The union has held seven partial strikes this year and is also considering a full-scale strike. As additional negotiations become inevitable due to the rejection of the tentative agreement, tensions between labor and management are expected to persist.

A representative of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries stated, "We regret that the industry’s top-level tentative agreement was not chosen by the union members," and added, "In future negotiations, we will continue to seek solutions that provide rational rewards for performance and foster sustainable competitiveness."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.