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Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's unionized regular employees hold a rally at the company's shipyard on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province, Friday, to oppose a strike by unionized workers of the shipbuilder's subcontractors. Yonhap

By Park Jae-hyuk

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's (DMSE) unionized regular employees began to stand with management against a month-long strike by unionized workers belonging to the shipbuilder's subcontractors, according to industry officials, Sunday.

Following a rally held last Friday at the company's shipyard on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province to urge the subcontracted workers to stop occupying its dock, DSME's regular employees in Seoul plan to distribute statements in front of the Korean National Police Agency on Monday and Tuesday to ask for measures to solve the problem.

The regular employees have claimed that the subcontracted workers' strike that began on June 2 threatens the livelihoods of thousands of workers.

The subcontracted workers occupied DSME's dock on June 18, and locked themselves in on June 22 by welding a steel-frame structure to its entrance. They even brought paint thinner, threatening to set fire to the facility if the police try to break up their strike.

DSME estimated that it had suffered at least 280 billion won ($216 million) in losses as of the end of June, saying that the labor dispute caused indefinite delays in the delivery of four ships to its clients.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) CEO Park Du-seon, front row third from left, speaks during a press conference at the company's shipyard on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. Courtesy of DSME

"We want a thorough investigation into all illegal acts committed inside the key industrial facility, including unlawful occupation, assaults on employees, vandalism and interference in our business," DSME CEO Park Du-seon said in a press conference at the company's shipyard, Thursday, a day after he declared a state of emergency.

In contrast, the subcontracted workers claim that they are merely demanding their wages to return to previous levels after being reduced and frozen over the past decade due to a slump in the shipbuilding industry.

The Korea Metalworkers' Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, in which both the regular and the subcontracted workers are members, criticized the shipbuilder and its largest shareholder, Korea Development Bank, for avoiding their responsibilities in the dispute. The umbrella union also asked the government to come up with fundamental measures for the nation's shipbuilding industry.