HMM Faces Strike Crossroads This Week... Will a Dramatic Agreement Be Reached?

Track and Field Union to Hold Labor Dispute Vote on 30th
Joint Struggle Depending on Results of Two Unions' Votes
Labor-Management Negotiations to Resume on 1st Next Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The possibility of the first strike in HMM's history is expected to be decided this week based on the results of renegotiations between labor and management.

According to the industry on the 29th, representatives of HMM labor and management will resume negotiations on wage increases on the 1st of next month. This is a follow-up measure after last week’s final wage negotiations failed to narrow differences between HMM President Bae Jae-hoon, Land Labor Union Chairman Kim Jin-man, and Maritime Labor Union Chairman Jeon Jeong-geun.

Previously, the Maritime Labor Union planned to submit a collective resignation letter to management on the 25th, but postponed submission to decide on collective action after observing the results of the Land Labor Union’s strike vote. The Land Labor Union will hold a strike vote on the 30th.

However, the Maritime Labor Union has already received resignation letters, shift change requests, and resumes for the Swiss-flagged shipping company MSC from 317 union members, leaving open the possibility of using this as a card for collective action depending on circumstances.

The Maritime Labor Union plans to make a final decision on whether to fight through the Joint Struggle Committee (Gongtuwi), established last week, after observing the results of the Land Labor Union’s strike vote scheduled for the 31st.

If the Land Labor Union’s vote passes, the two unions will immediately hold a joint press conference to announce key policies regarding future disputes and strikes. Based on this, they plan to lead the wage renegotiations scheduled for the 1st of next month with President Bae and management more favorably to reach a final agreement.

Meanwhile, the two unions are demanding a 25% wage increase and 1200% performance bonus this year, claiming wage normalization, while management proposed an 8% wage increase, a 300% encouragement bonus, and an additional 200% incentive bonus after the year-end settlement as a compromise.

An industry official said, "The possibility of a strike is high as HMM’s labor and management have failed to narrow their differences regarding wage increases," but added, "We hope that government mediation and management’s proposal of a new wage increase plan will lead to a dramatic compromise to prevent a logistics crisis."

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