Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Yoon urges workers at DSME subcontractors to end strike
President Yoon Suk-yeol answers reporters' questions as he enters the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press Corps
By Nam Hyun-woo
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Yoon Suk-yeol ratcheted up pressure on striking subcontracted workers at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to end their protracted walkout, days after he said his patience was wearing thin, urging them to return to work “for the sake of everyone.”
“Ending the illegal action and getting back to normal is what the public wants, and that is also good for everyone,” Yoon told reporters, Thursday, when asked for his opinion on the strike.
A day earlier, he said any illegalities in industrial relations “shouldn't be tolerated” and “the government and the public have already waited so long” for an end to the strike.
Yoo Choi-an, vice head of a union of subcontracted workers of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), holds a banner as he stages a sit-in protest inside a metal structure at a dock in DSME's Okpo shipyard on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday
The comment came as the strike continued for the 50th day on Thursday. Since June 22, some of the unionized workers have been staging a sit-in protest at the main dock of DSME's Okpo shipyard on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province.
The strike is believed to have inflicted an estimated 1 trillion won ($764.1 million) in losses on DSME.
Hopes were high that the parties may reach an agreement on Wednesday, as the unionized workers reportedly lowered their demand for a wage hike from 30 percent to 5 percent, while the employers also showed positive responses to the union's demand to improve labor rights.
However, the negotiations faced another hurdle as they failed to narrow differences on whether the employers will sue the unionized workers for damages from the losses incurred by their strike. The parties resumed their negotiations on Thursday.
Members of the Korea Metal Workers' Union stage a rally to support Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) subcontractors' strike at the shipbuilder's Okpo Shipyard on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Yonhap
Against this backdrop, Yoon's comments are interpreted as pressure on the parties to reach an agreement as soon as possible, otherwise the government may consider using police force to end the strike. The Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding Association and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) have already requested the government mobilize law enforcement.
The negotiating parties see Friday as a de facto deadline for negotiations, because DSME's two-week summer holiday will begin this weekend. In case the negotiations do not conclude by then, the government may give police the green light to enter the shipyard and arrest protesters.
Reportedly, the police finished an on-site safety checkup and conducted a simulated exercise.
Banners supporting (left) and opposing (right) Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) subcontractors' strike are displayed at DSME's dock in Okpo Shipyard on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps
Amid the stalemate, unions are divided.
The Korean Metal Workers' Union's (KMWU) DSME chapter, which is a union of DSME employees, held a vote on Thursday whether to maintain its membership in the KMWU, as doubts were raised that the union did not handle the subcontracted workers' strike properly. The subcontracted workers' union is also under the KMWU.
The KMWU is one of the most influential unions comprising the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the top two umbrella labor groups in Korea. Both the KMWU and KCTU have been supporting the subcontracted workers' protest and objecting the government's possible crackdown.
If the DSME chapter leaves the KMWU, unions' leverage in the negotiation will likely lose momentum. The vote will close on Friday afternoon.
The stalemate at DSME has already evolved into a subject of political fray.
During a National Assembly speech, Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, acting chairman of the PPP, stressed the government should take strict legal actions in response to the militant union's illegal activities, saying “lukewarm responses to unlawful activities only encourage further illegalities.”
Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea interim chief Rep. Woo Sang-ho countered that “talks between labor and management are underway, and it is inappropriate for the ruling party leader to exercise pressure.”
He added, “We expect labor and management can resolve the issue through talks, without triggering a law enforcement response.”