HMM CEO sued for pushing ahead with headquarters relocation
Union to begin procedures to secure legal right to strike this week
HMM CEO Choi Won-hyok speaks during the celebration of the shipping firm's 50th anniversary at the company headquarters in Seoul, March 24. Courtesy of HMM
The union representing HMM’s land-based employees filed a complaint with the Ministry of Employment and Labor against CEO Choi Won-hyok of the nation’s largest container shipping firm, accusing management of pushing ahead with plans to move the company’s headquarters from Seoul to Busan in line with the government policy.
The legal action followed HMM’s board of directors’ decision on March 30 to approve revising the head office location stipulated in the company’s articles of association. The proposed amendment is set to be submitted for approval at the general shareholders’ meeting on May 8.
“This is clearly an unfair labor practice, as management has been trying to sideline the union and neglecting its duty to engage in good-faith negotiations,” the union said in a statement Tuesday.
The union has threatened to file additional lawsuits against other board members, accusing them of dereliction of duty.
Unless management agrees to hold talks, the union plans to ask the National Labor Relations Commission later this week to begin arbitration.
If the arbitration fails and members vote in favor of a strike, the union will secure the legal right to walk out. The union leader expects to obtain the right by the end of this month.
“HMM’s workers have become scapegoats for the government’s political goals ahead of the local elections,” the union leader said during a rally in front of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Thursday.
“We do not want to strike, but the government and management are driving us to it.”
Despite labor opposition, HMM’s relocation plan is likely to pass, given that its two largest shareholders are the state-run Korea Development Bank and Korea Ocean Business Corp., overseen by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The National Pension Service is the third-largest shareholder with a 5.62 percent stake.
President Lee Jae Myung has also been committed to pushing major shipping firms to follow the oceans ministry’s lead in relocating to Busan, citing the need to bolster competitiveness in developing Arctic shipping routes.
Yang Chang-ho, executive vice president of the Korea Shipowners’ Association, told reporters Thursday that a strike by HMM’s land-based workers would have a limited impact on its maritime operations.
However, HMM’s seagoing union members joined the protest last month, holding a joint press conference with their land-based colleagues in front of the presidential office.
“The association is acting more like a government mouthpiece than a defender of the shipping industry,” the land-based union said in a statement Monday.