Daewoo Construction New Employee Starting Salary Surpasses 50 Million Won... First Double-Digit Wage Increase Rate Since Establishment

Baek Jeong-wan, CEO of Daewoo E&C (right), and Shim Sang-chul, Chairman of the Labor Union

Daewoo E&C labor and management announced on the 12th that they have reached a final agreement on a 10% average wage increase for 2022 and signed a wage agreement. Considering wage competitiveness and recruitment competitiveness compared to peer companies, Daewoo E&C labor and management decided to apply differentiated increase rates by rank based on the concept of 'Hahu-sangbak (下厚上薄).' Accordingly, the starting salary for new college graduate employees hired this year will exceed 50 million KRW.

The 10% average wage increase is the highest level since Daewoo E&C was founded. Joongheung Group, which acquired Daewoo E&C, clearly stated in the win-win agreement signed with the labor union at the beginning of this year during the acquisition phase that "employee wages will be raised to the level of the top three companies in the industry within three years" to strengthen Daewoo E&C's competitiveness.

The early settlement of wage negotiations within one month of starting is also considered very unusual. In 2021, before Joongheung Group's acquisition, negotiations ended in mid-August, and in 2020, they concluded only at the end of December. In both cases, the negotiation process was difficult every year, involving breakdowns and even mediation by the Central Labor Relations Commission. However, this year, with the early conclusion of wage negotiations, rapid organizational stabilization after Joongheung Group's acquisition is expected.

In addition to the basic salary increase, as part of 'field-centered management,' various improvements in treatment for field workers were also agreed upon. The agreement includes raising domestic and overseas field allowances by rank from 210,000 KRW to up to 290,000 KRW per month, as well as preferential treatment in personnel evaluations and promotions for field workers. Along with this, Daewoo E&C labor and management agreed to provide a total encouragement bonus of 2 million KRW to all employees over this year and next year, and to increase welfare points from 600,000 KRW last year to 1 million KRW this year.

Shim Sang-chul, chairman of the Daewoo E&C labor union, said, "Under the Korea Development Bank system for 10 years, wages were frozen for five consecutive years, worsening treatment and lowering employee morale and the company's competitiveness." He added, "Although the scale of the encouragement bonus is less than initially expected, there was consensus that securing the company's wage competitiveness through average wage increases is urgent." He also said, "We hope that this wage increase and improvement in field workers' treatment will restore employees' pride and self-esteem."

A Daewoo E&C official said, "Through the smooth agreement on this wage negotiation, we have dispelled internal and external concerns arising from changes in governance," and added, "Going forward, labor and management will continue to cooperate to improve employee treatment continuously based on the company's performance."

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