DSME subcontractors face mounting pressure to end strike

Subcontractors of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) hold a hunger strike in front of Korea Development Bank, Seoul, July 14. Korea Times file

President calls for immediate halt of illegal occupation of dockyard

By Lee Kyung-min

The ongoing strike by over 150 unionized subcontractors of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) is rapidly losing ground, as indicated by a court-ordered fine that delegitimized the collective action, according to industry watchers, Monday.

The ruling by the Tongyeong unit of Changwon District Court in South Gyeongsang Province is the latest blow to the strike that began June 2, compounded further by a number of the shipbuilder's partner firms being pushed to the brink of collapse.

The court ruled July 16 that striking subcontractors occupying a dock at DSME's shipyard on Geoje Island should leave the premises or pay a fine of 3 million won ($2,270) a day to the shipbuilder.

The court said the strike by unionized subcontractors is not a legitimate collective action seeking dispute mediation and added that the shipbuilder stands to suffer financial losses.

However, the unionized subcontractors continue to occupy the dockyard.

“We will continue our action until the management accepts our demands,” a leader of the subcontractors' group said after the ruling. “We will find legal remedies to respond to the district court's ruling.”

Full-time regular workers of the shipbuilder have held their own rallies calling on the subcontractors to leave the dockyard so production can resume.

The shipbuilder's losses have amounted to 570 billion won as of July 15, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The striking subcontractors received 1.8 million won in monthly pay from a fund raised by other union members across the nation.

The Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF), which represents employers, said the government should intervene to resolve the issue.

“The government should not sit idly by, waiting for the management and the labor union to come to an agreement on their own,” it said.

“The law enforcement authorities should be mobilized, if need be, to limit the losses before they spiral out of control.

Meanwhile, President Yoon Suk-yeol reiterated that illegal activities at industrial sites should be halted immediately.

“Ministers with relevant authority should step up efforts to resolve the issue that will continue to have far-reaching implications for the country's economy,” he said during a meeting with economy-related ministers.