Minnochoong Gyeongnam "Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Must Participate in Tripartite Council"

The Gyeongnam Headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions held a press conference urging Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to participate in the labor-management-government consultative body. / Photo by Se-ryeong Lee ryeong@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Gyeongnam Headquarters held a press conference on the 17th demanding Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's (DSME) participation in the tripartite labor-management-government council.

The KCTU Gyeongnam Headquarters claimed that on the 11th, DSME notified them of its refusal to participate in the tripartite council.

They stated, "The agreement achieved after a life-risking 51-day struggle by DSME subcontracted workers is a social agreement," and added, "The strike was concluded through an agreement based on the social promises made by senior officials of the government and local governments."

The headquarters explained that they proposed a cooperative tripartite labor-management-government council for the shipbuilding industry to Gyeongnam Province and reached an agreement on forming the council through a meeting between union representatives and the provincial governor in September.

"The council project was promoted under the leadership of Gyeongnam Province, but recently DSME conveyed to the province its position of non-participation," they said.

They criticized DSME, saying, "The unilateral notification of non-participation is the obstinacy of management and a complete violation of the spirit of social agreement," and added, "The company is handing over to Hanwha Group and disrupting the social agreement."

They emphasized, "The first party responsible for ending the strike is DSME," and warned, "If DSME withdraws from the council, the current situation will remain as is and inevitably be handed over to the new management."

The headquarters urged, "To prevent the social agreement from becoming an empty promise, DSME must fully bear its responsibilities and roles until the end," and expressed strong remarks, "We will not stand by quietly, and if the situation demands risking lives, we will do so."

They further called on related agencies such as the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, and the Korea Development Bank to "force DSME to participate in the social council to implement the social agreement and establish countermeasures."

According to Gyeongnam Province, DSME expressed its intention not to participate in the tripartite council formation through an official letter on the 11th.

The reason given was that subcontracted workers have a subcontracting relationship rather than a direct employment relationship with the primary contractor.

The tripartite council was established to discuss issues related to DSME workers' wages and employment structure.

The council is expected to discuss measures such as forming an agreement body to preemptively prevent a repeat of the general strike incident in July.

A provincial official said, "There is no legal way to force participation, but we are continuously encouraging DSME to join the council and mediating differences."

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