SKorean auto, shipbuilding workers to go on strikeSEOUL: Tens of thousands of South Korean auto and shipbuilding workers are set to launch partial strikes this week after negotiations over wage increases stalled. Hyundai Heavy has been forced to shed thousands of jobs in recent years as part of state-led restructuring of the country’s once-mighty shipbuilding industry. The South’s “Big Three” shipbuilders—Hyundai, Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering—have cut tens of thousands of jobs amid mounting losses, sparking angry protests from workers. It will be the first time in 23 years that workers in both firms have staged industrial action at the same time. Some 60 percent of the 15,000 unionized workers approved the partial stoppage to demand a bigger wage rise and bonuses.

Source: Manila Times July 18, 2016 07:52 UTC