Creditors of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. on Monday urged the embattled shipbuilder's workers to refrain from going on strike, saying that a potential walkout would deter the ongoing efforts to salvage the financially shaky firm, industry sources said.
According to the sources, some 7,000 unionized workers at Daewoo Shipbuilding are scheduled to vote on whether or not they will launch a strike, claiming that the shipbuilder's restructuring schemes submitted to its creditors only calls for the workers' pain-sharing.
The results may come out by late Tuesday, the sources said.
The company and union, in particular, are also at odds over the plan to slash the workforce by an additional 2,300 to 10,000 by 2019.
Last year, Daewoo Shipbuilding's creditors provided 4.2 trillion won ($3.58 billion) in financial aid in return for its workers not going on a strike. Since August of last year, the creditors, led by state-run Korea Development Bank, have provided
3.2 trillion won in financial help to the shipbuilder.
Last week, the shipbuilder mapped out a 5.3 trillion won self-rescue plan, approved by its creditors, which includes asset sales and a spin-off of key business units.
South Korean shipbuilders, including Daewoo Shipbuilding, have been under severe financial strains in the face of falls in new orders amid a protracted slump in the world's economy.
Separately, the union of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. is set to hold a meeting of its representatives on Friday to decide on whether to go on strike. (Yonhap)
