Amid Growing Concerns about Steep Supply Disruptions
Amid growing concerns about the supply of steel products due to flood damage at POSCO’s Pohang Works, Hyundai Steel’s labor union threatened that it would go on strike if the management does not come to the negotiation table.
In a news conference on Sept. 19, the four branches of Hyundai Steel (Dangjin, Incheon, Pohang and Dangjin Hysco) said, “We sent a proposal for wage and collective bargaining for 2022 to the management on March 16 and proposed that the first round of the negotiations be held on June 3. But the management has not participated in any of the 15 rounds of negotiations held until Sept. 15.”
The union's demands included a raise of 165,200 won in the basic salary and payment of 15 percent of the company's operating profit in 2021 as a performance-based bonus. The union has also been occupying the office of the president of Dangjin Works for over 140 days, demanding a special incentive of 4 million won per worker, just as other group affiliates such as Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. did.
Experts say that if the labor union of Hyundai Steel goes on strike at a time when POSCO's Pohang Works suffered flood damage, steel supply disruptions will worsen.