Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major shipbuilder here, said Thursday it has sought a court order against unionized workers occupying a shipbuilding crane, the latest development in a drawn-out wage dispute with the labor union.

The crane occupation by unionized workers at its shipyard in Ulsan started Tuesday after the management did not propose tangible proposals to solve the two-year-long wage dispute.

"The workers plan to go on strike until Friday, but how long the situation will go on is unclear," Kim Hyeong-gyun, director of policy planning at the union, told Yonhap News Agency.

The shipbuilder, a unit of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE), also asked for a court ruling ordering 26 leading members of the union to pay 50 million won ($43,656) if they do not call off the sit-in strike and remove tents and banners for the strike set up around the crane.

Separately, the shipbuilder filed a complaint against 16 union members with local police for their alleged work disruption.

Hyundai Heavy Industries will file a damage lawsuit against the union.

Unionized workers put down their tools Tuesday, about two weeks after they turned down the wage deal for 2019 to 2020.

On Feb. 5, the unionized workers rejected the first tentative agreement with the management, which called for a basic pay raise of 46,000 won for 2019, a wage freeze for 2020 and the cancellation of a lawsuit against union members who opposed the spinoff of Hyundai Heavy in 2019.

The second tentative agreement was also rejected by unionized workers on April 2, which included a special bonus of 2 million won that was not included in the first tentative agreement, as the management's offer for a basic bay raise failed to meet the workers' demand.

Hyundai Heavy Industries was spun off into KSOE, a subholding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and KSOE's wholly owned entity.

KSOE has been pushing ahead with the group's plan to acquire the country's No. 2 shipbuilder, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME).

On May 6, the shipbuilder requested a preliminary screening by the Korea Exchange, the local stock market operator, before listing its shares on the market. (Yonhap)