Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI)' union has started a two-day general strike. With wage and collective bargaining deadlocked, the conflict between HHI and its labor union is expected to intensify over the "unfair labor act."
Some say that the labor union is taking strong measures ahead of the internal elections. Concerns are rising that it could dampen the recovery of orders for the company that have been on the rise.
The HHI division of the Korea Metal Workers' Union will hold a general strike for eight hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 20.
On Nov. 19, the HHI labor union said that the management should prepare measures to prevent illegal labor management and apologize to the union members. According to the labor union, the management has recently divided the union membership status into five levels and focused on controlling the top three steps favorable to the company. The Ulsan office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor is investigating unfair labor practices of HHI.
HHI said it prohibits unfair labor practices that occurred at a certain site and is embarrassed by such a case, adding that the company never gave any systematic orders.
Some market watchers worry that the strike could dampen the company's performance that has been on the rise. HHI announced on Oct. 19 that its sales on a separate basis reached 702.4 billion won in October, a 16.48 percent increase from the same month last year.
