Daewoo Shipbuilding Employees: "Subcontractor Union's Illegal Strike Causes 280 Billion Won Loss... Requesting Dissolution"

Partners Also Voice Calls to 'Resolve Illegal Strikes'

On the morning of the 11th, employees of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's Seoul office held a rally in front of the National Police Agency urging an investigation into the illegal strike by the subcontractor union.

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Members of the subcontractor labor union occupying the shipyard dock and striking urged an investigation into the illegal strike by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) employees.

On the 11th, about 30 DSME employees held a rally in front of the Seoul Seodaemun Police Station, demanding an investigation into the illegal strike by the Geoje, Tongyeong, and Goseong shipbuilding subcontractor branches.

In a distributed appeal, they stated, "The Geoje, Tongyeong, and Goseong shipbuilding subcontractor branches have been conducting an illegal strike for over a month, making unrealistic demands such as recognition of full-time union officials, provision of union offices, a 30% wage increase, and a 300% bonus increase from each in-house partner company," adding, "They have destroyed production facilities directly related to safety and committed dangerous violent acts such as assaulting employees."

They continued, "Due to the prolonged downturn in the shipbuilding industry over the past several years, the company's sales have decreased to as low as one-third, and from last year through the first quarter of this year, the company has recorded losses exceeding 2 trillion won, enduring a difficult period," lamenting, "We are facing triple hardships including rising raw material costs and contract cancellations of Russian projects due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine."

They added, "Fortunately, the shipbuilding industry is now emerging from the long tunnel of recession and entering a recovery phase," explaining, "Since last year, orders have increased, demand for highly profitable LNG carriers is rising, showing signs of a rebound, and notably, in the first half of this year, Korean shipbuilding surpassed China to achieve the world's number one order volume for the first time in four years."

They claimed that the long-awaited boom is being wasted due to the illegal strike.

They stated, "DSME survived thanks to support from creditors including major shareholders, as well as sacrifices from employees and partner companies, and now has the obligation to repay the debt supported by taxpayers through rehabilitation and management normalization," warning, "The illegal strike by the subcontractor union caused losses exceeding 280 billion won in June alone, and if the strike continues, daily sales will decrease by 26 billion won and fixed costs will incur losses of 6 billion won, threatening to erase this rare opportunity."

The employees urged, "The efforts of about 20,000 employees and partner company workers who have endured any pain for the company's recovery are at risk of being wasted due to the illegal acts of about 100 subcontractor branch members," and called for "strict law enforcement to disband the subcontractor branch occupying key production facilities."

Meanwhile, in the afternoon, about 50 members of the DSME Partner Companies Council are scheduled to hold a rally at the main gate of the War Memorial in Yongsan, Seoul, demanding a resolution to the subcontractor union's illegal strike.

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