GEOJE, South Korea– Striking subcontract workers at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) have narrowed differences in wage negotiations with the management, raising the possibility of a deal to end the weekslong walkout, sources said Wednesday.
Demanding a 30 percent wage hike and other measures, subcontract workers have been on a wildcat strike since June 2 at the fourth-largest global shipbuilder’s Okpo shipyard on the south coast, occupying a crude carrier under construction.
The walkout brought the operations of the shipyard to a standstill, causing up to hundreds of billions of won in losses.
According to the sources, the subcontract workers and the firm substantially narrowed their gap on wage hike proposals down to the labor’s 5 percent and the firm’s 4.5 percent in their negotiations launched Saturday.
The two sides are currently working to smooth out the subcontract workers’ demand for a 10 percent wage hike for 2023 as well as the firm’s official recognition of their labor union activities.
“The labor and the company sides are actively engaging in negotiations with a sense of urgency as the prolonged strike snowballed losses while the possibility of use of force is being mentioned,” a source said.
On Tuesday, President Yoon Suk-yeol said he believes the country has “waited long enough” for the strike to end, hinting at the possibility of using force to break up the prolonged walkout.
Source: Yonhap News Agency