[THE INVESTOR] Shipbuilding and construction industry labor unions announced that they will stage mass strikes on July 20.

The shipbuilding industry unions’ coalition on July 13 held a press conference at the National Assembly saying that its member unions will stage an “all-out” strike to resist the ongoing restricting efforts. The coalition consists of the unions of eight shipyards.

Faced with massive losses, the country’s shipbuilding industry is undergoing restructuring that includes workforce reduction. 



“Until now we have demanded that (the companies) should stop restructuring that passes the blame (for the industries’ difficulties) to the laborers,” the coalition union’s representatives said. The coalition added that the restructuring plans drawn up by the companies were aimed at killing the industry.

“We have patiently tried to seek a peaceful resolution, but we realized that an all-out strike is the only way to defend the shipbuilding industry and our jobs.”

Along with the shipbuilding industry union, the umbrella union for workers in industrial plant construction also announced that industrial action will be taken from July 20.

The plant construction union is a subgroup of the Korean Federation of Construction Industry Trade Unions.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)