Court Orders Daewoo Shipbuilding Subcontractor Union to Evacuate Occupied Ship... Pay 3 Million Won per Day if Noncompliant

Employees of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Geoje-si, Gyeongnam are demanding the subcontractor union to stop the strike. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The court has issued an eviction order against the members of the Metal Workers' Union subcontractor branch occupying the shipbuilding site of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Geoje, Gyeongnam.

According to the legal community on the 18th, the Civil Division 2 of Tongyeong Branch of Changwon District Court recently partially approved Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's injunction request against Yoo Choean, vice chairman of the Metal Workers' Union Geoje-Tongyeong-Goseong Shipbuilding Subcontractor Branch, to prohibit assembly and demonstration.

The court judged that the union's occupation protest exceeded the scope of legitimate dispute actions defined by relevant laws and ordered that if they do not evacuate, they must pay Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering 3 million KRW per day.

The police have also sent a fourth summons to Vice Chairman Yoo and others accused of obstructing business, requiring them to appear by the 22nd.

The police stated that if they fail to appear again, they plan to reapply for an arrest warrant to the prosecution.

The Geo-Tong subcontractor branch is demanding from partner companies ▲ a 30% wage increase ▲ a 300% bonus payment ▲ recognition of full-time union officials ▲ provision of union offices.

Seven union members have been occupying Dock 1 of Okpo Shipyard since the 2nd of last month, and among these workers, one has been continuing the protest inside a 1㎥ steel structure.

According to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the union members' occupation of the ship under construction has completely halted the launching work of the vessel scheduled for delivery in November.

As a result of the strike continuing for 47 days, three in-house partner companies have already closed, four are expected to shut down, and 570 night shift workers have entered a work stoppage.

The workers include some crane and equipment operators and personnel who make blocks in the factory, and they will receive a work stoppage allowance at about 70% of their average wage.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that this strike is causing daily losses of approximately 31.6 billion KRW to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, with cumulative losses nearing 600 billion KRW as of the 17th.

The ministry warned that if negotiations are not concluded by the end of this week, the strike will prolong and the damage to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering will snowball.

The labor and management began talks to resolve the situation on the 15th, and on the 18th, a four-party meeting was held at the proposal of the primary union, Daewoo Shipbuilding Union.

With Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's summer vacation scheduled for two weeks starting on the 23rd, attention is focused on whether negotiations will be settled before the vacation.

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