MANAGEMENT and the union at South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries have reached a tentative agreement in the 30th round of wage talks since their first meeting on June 4.

The union will vote on the agreement on November 8. If passed by a majority, HD HHI will finally conclude its wage negotiations, following Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean concluding talks this year.

The tentative agreement, based on the third proposal, includes a basic wage increase of Won129,000 ($92) and a bonus of Won4.5m. While this is an increase of Won27,000 from the initial offer, it falls short of the union’s original demand for a Won159,800 wage hike.

However, HHI’s offer is more generous than those of its peers. At Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean, unions agreed to basic salary increases of Won121,526 and Won117,404, with bonuses of Won3m and Won3.7m, respectively.

The HHI union had insisted on a higher percentage wage increase, citing the current shipbuilding boom, but management opted to boost the incentive bonus rather than significantly raising the base salary.

In a statement, the union said: “It is true that the tentative agreement falls far short of our demands, but we must consider union members who are exhausted from the strikes since summer. Members need to refresh their minds and bodies and prepare for next year.”

Including the most recent walkout on November 6, HHI has held a total of 24 partial strikes since joining the industry’s first joint strike on August 28, as previous negotiations failed to yield a solution.

A union official told Lloyd’s List: “With the agreement reached, the planned walkouts will be cancelled.”

However, there is still a possibility that more time will be needed to finalise the negotiations. The official added: “It is not certain that a majority of members will vote in favour.”

In recent years, the union has rejected initial tentative agreements. In both 2022 and 2023, wage and collective bargaining negotiations concluded only after second tentative agreements were approved.

An HD HHI official told Lloyd’s List: “Management and the union have agreed not to delay the talks any longer and to conclude them this year. We are preparing the best offer we can and are awaiting the wise judgment of the union members.”

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