AsiaShipyards

Crane occupied in DSME strike

A worker’s strike at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has seen operations at a giant dock crane come to a halt for much of this week. Two workers from DSME’s Metal Union gained access to a 40 m high crane early on Tuesday and have not moved since, as part of a protest demanding a pay increase at a time where the struggling yard has been attempting to slash salaries.

Such high altitude strikes are not uncommon at Korean yards. One around a decade ago paralysed operations at a rival’s drydock for more than three months.

Strikes at the state bailed out DSME are also very commonplace. This time last year there was a significant worker walkout at the yard.

Despite the worker unrest the final weeks of the year have been kind to DSME with a huge swathe of LNG orders bringing the Korean yard close to hitting its ambitious 2018 sales goal.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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