Hyundai Heavy workers win ordinary wage suit

A court ruled Thursday in favor of unionized workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, in an “ordinary wage” lawsuit.

In its ruling, the Ulsan District Court said that the company should calculate regular bonuses it paid to workers as base pay.

In 2010, 10 union members of the company filed a lawsuit, demanding bonuses and other benefits be considered “ordinary pay,” which is used to calculate a range of benefits, from overtime payments to annual raises.

The shipbuilder has customarily paid its workers 800 percent of their monthly wages annually as a bonus.

The plaintiffs claimed that the entire bonus should be considered ordinary wages, while the management wanted to keep the rate at 700 percent.

However, the court said that the ruling would apply retroactively for three years based on relevant laws, adding that the ruling also covers workers at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., an affiliate of Hyundai Heavy.

Thursday’s ruling was closely watched as a benchmark decision that may affect the entire industry because of Hyundai Heavy’s leading position in the sector, according to Yonhap.

The controversy over ordinary wages was highlighted after a landmark 2013 ruling by the Supreme Court that bonuses should be viewed as part of a worker’s wages if given on a regular and periodic basis.

Unlike the latest ruling, a Seoul court ruled last month in favor of Hyundai Motor Co. in a similar wage dispute, saying bonuses did not have to be included in base wages for more than 90 percent of its workers.

By Suk Gee-hyun (monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)