Unionized workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major South Korean shipbuilder, voted on Monday in favor of a deal tentatively reached with the management during their annual wage negotiations.
  
Of 15,131 votes cast by its unionists, 8,894 workers, or 58.78 percent, supported the deal reached late last week between leaders of labor union and company officials.
  
Both sides earlier agreed to freeze the base salary but give workers a 100-percent bonus along with 1.5 million won (US$1,287) worth of incentives and other benefits.
  
The final approval comes as Hyundai Heavy Industries is suffering a sharp decline in orders caused by the industry-wide slump. The shipbuilding giant reported that its third-quarter net loss reached 451 billion won.
  
"The agreement was possible thanks to unionized workers understanding the gravity of the situation the company is currently facing," a Hyundai Heavy official said. "Now is the time for labor and management to ramp up efforts to realize our business plans for next year." (Yonhap)