浦项钢铁工会宣布11月2日起无限期罢工，工资谈判破裂但高炉核心工序预计不停

POSCO, already struggling to restore profitability amid a flood of low-priced Chinese steel, faces the first open-ended strike in its history. The labor dispute hands Chang In-hwa, chairman of POSCO Group, a second major challenge in his third year at the helm, after he made restoring the competitiveness of the core steel business his top priority. Analysts say his management leadership is now being tested.
The POSCO labor union, affiliated with the Korean Metal Workers' Federation under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, began phased industrial action on the 26th, including wearing protest vests and refusing to respond to unscheduled work requests after hours, according to steel industry sources. The union plans to launch an open-ended strike at 7 p.m. on Nov. 2 and to gradually expand the number of participants. Last-ditch talks on the 23rd, attended in person by POSCO President Lee Hee-keun and union leaders, also broke down, pushing the conflict toward a breaking point.
The two sides remain far apart on the size of the pay increase and performance-based compensation. The union is demanding a 7.1% rise in base pay, a bonus equal to 600% of monthly base pay, 50 shares under the employee stock ownership plan and holiday bonuses equal to 200% of monthly base pay. The company has offered a 2.5% increase in base pay, a lump-sum payment of 5 million won, and holiday bonuses of 1 million won plus an additional 10%. POSCO says it cannot accept the union's demands as they stand, citing a sharp deterioration in profitability that included a more than 40% year-on-year drop in second-quarter operating profit on a non-consolidated basis. The union counters that the company's offer falls short of members' expectations. After talks collapsed on the 23rd, the union reaffirmed its hard line, saying the dispute "will bring about an uncontrollable situation, given how long we have held back," and that it would "decide on halting the strike only after reviewing the company's offer."
The strike notice comes barely a month after POSCO experienced its first-ever walkout, 58 years after the company was founded in 1968. The union staged two partial strikes last month, one lasting 48 hours from the 9th and another lasting 120 hours from the 16th. The company kept its main production lines running at the time by deploying replacement workers. This time, however, no end date has been set, so the burden on production sites is certain to grow depending on how many workers join and which processes are affected.
For Chang, who faces urgent pressure to defend profitability and overhaul the core business, the labor dispute has emerged as the biggest threat to the group's recovery. Since taking office in March 2024, Chang has pushed to expand high-value-added steel products, strengthen cost competitiveness and restructure the group's business portfolio. But with the industry recovery slowed by Chinese steel oversupply and aggressive low-price exports, a prolonged labor conflict has added to the management burden. Analysts say that with the company's long no-strike tradition already broken and a full-scale dispute now looming again, his handling of labor relations is bound to come under scrutiny.
A protracted strike could also spread damage to major steel-consuming industries such as autos and shipbuilding. Because blast furnaces, steelmaking and rolling facilities at a mill operate in a continuous chain, disruption at one stage can affect the entire production schedule. The company says a complete halt in operations is unlikely because core processes are designated as essential under the collective bargaining agreement. Still, the prospect of the first open-ended strike in company history is bound to heighten concern and uncertainty on the ground.
Industry officials worry the dispute could weigh on POSCO's medium- to long-term competitiveness, not just its wage costs. Production stability and shop-floor productivity are becoming more important as price and quality competition with Chinese steelmakers intensifies. Both sides remain open to further talks, however, so whether the open-ended strike actually goes ahead will depend on the remaining negotiations.