The labor union members of Hyundai Heavy Industries have demanded that the world’s top shipbuilder allow them to participate in management amid a looming labor strife over restructuring.

Union leader Baek Hyung-rok met the company’s chief executive Kwon Oh-gap on Tuesday to reportedly call for the right to choose an outside director, alongside negotiations over wage rise and job security that kicked off in the day.


“We don’t expect such a right will significantly change the management system. It is just symbolic that we serve as a watchman of the management system,” union official Kim Tae-jung told The Korea Herald by phone.

Last week, the labor union vowed that they would root out the incompetent management and its corruption through the negotiations.

However, the union’s offensive is apparently a heavy burden on the company, which is already struggling from weak ship orders amid the prolonged global economic slowdown, company officials said.

“The demand from the union is too burdensome as the company, which is in crisis, is now struggling to overcome the difficulties,” a company spokesperson said.

On Monday, the troubled shipbuilder announced a voluntary retirement plan for its employees above the manager level. Although the specific number was not disclosed, market watchers estimate that it would be 2,000 to 3,000 employees, which is around 5 to 10 percent of the total workforce.

Hyundai Heavy posted losses during nine straight quarters until the fourth quarter of 2015. Although it turned around in the first quarter this year, it was mostly driven by oil refining and engine sectors and not from its main shipbuilding business. The company gained only three ship orders -- two tankers and one liquefied petroleum gas ship -- through April this year.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)