Unionized workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the country's leading shipbuilder, launched another partial strike Friday, demanding higher wages, better working conditions and other benefits.
  

Refusing a proposal by the management to freeze their base salary, the workers at the shipyard in this southeastern city put down their tools at 8 a.m., and the walkout lasted until noon. Thursday's strike is the second such action following one on Aug. 26.
  

The Hyundai Heavy union, jointly with other unions at rival shipbuilders, is also planning more rounds of partial strikes on Sept. 9 and Sept. 17.
  

Asia's fourth-biggest economy, and major enterprises here are bracing for a slump in domestic demand and overseas shipments.
  

Hyundai Heavy suffered a net loss of more than 200 billion won in the second quarter of the year, the seventh consecutive quarterly loss, as it set aside massive reserves against potential losses stemming from a delay in the construction of low-priced ships and money-losing offshore facilities.

Hyundai Heavy also logged a net loss of 2.2 trillion won in 2014, shifting from a net profit of 146.3 billion won the previous year. It also recorded its biggest operating loss ever of 3.25 trillion won last year, a stark downturn from an operating profit of 802 billion won a year ago.
  

Meanwhile, unionized workers at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., Hyundai Heavy's affiliate shipyard, will vote next week on whether to go on a strike. If they opt to walk out, it would be their first sit-down strike since 2004. (Yonhap)