Published : Nov. 11, 2020 - 11:47
This photo provided by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. shows its shipyard in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co.)
Unionized workers at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. launched a strike vote Wednesday after failing to bridge a wide gap with its management on a wage and collective agreement.
The 2,000-strong union members of the shipbuilder, a unit of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., began casting votes over whether to authorize a strike.
The strike vote is set to end Friday.
On Oct. 28, the union asked the regional office of the National Labor Relations Commission in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan to mediate a labor dispute, but the commission instructed the union and management to hold more talks.
The state-run commission is responsible for mediating and adjudicating labor disputes.
Under the advice, the labor union is required to continue to hold talks with the management to launch a legal walkout even if the strike vote is passed.
The labor and management had 23 rounds of talks since July 8, but significant progress has not been made yet.
The labor union has called for a pay raise, additional bonus, the extension of the retirement age and the abolition of the wage peak system, saying the company had been in the black in the January-September period.
But the management has yet to put out its proposal. (Yonhap)