Yoon urges workers at DSME subcontractors to end strike
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Loading... - Daiki Tanaka
- 22 Jul 2022
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President Yoon Suk-yeol ratcheted up pressure on striking subcontracted workers at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to end their protracted walkout, days after he said his patience was wearing thin, urging them to return to work "for the sake of everyone."
"Ending the illegal action and getting back to normal is what the public wants, and that is also good for everyone," Yoon told reporters, Thursday, when asked for his opinion on the strike.
A day earlier, he said any illegalities in industrial relations "shouldn't be tolerated" and "the government and the public have already waited so long" for an end to the strike.
The comment came as the strike continued for the 50th day on Thursday. Since June 22, some of the unionized workers have been staging a sit-in protest at the main dock of DSME's Okpo shipyard on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province.
The strike is believed to have inflicted an estimated 1 trillion won ($764.1 million) in losses on DSME.
Hopes were high that the parties may reach an agreement on Wednesday, as the unionized workers reportedly lowered their demand for a wage hike from 30 percent to 5 percent, while the employers also showed positive responses to the union's demand to improve labor rights.
However, the negotiations faced another hurdle as they failed to narrow differences on whether the employers will sue the unionized workers for damages from the losses incurred by their strike. The parties resumed their negotiations on Thursday. Read More…
