The transformation of labor force dualism in South Korea’s Shipyards, 1974 to the present

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the historical evolution of labor force dualism at Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). The proportion of precarious workers at HHI reveals a U-shaped curve over time, with its nadir in the late 1980s. There has been a transformation at HHI from dualism without inequality before 1987 to dualism with inequality after the mid-1990s. Before 1987, HHI management pursued dualism but inequality did not widen because wages were kept low for both regular and non-regular workers. Dualism without inequality at HHI disappeared in the aftermath of the 1987 labor upsurge as a result of working-class solidarity around the demand for eliminating precarious employment. However, the decline in dualism was short-lived. To achieve industrial peace while simultaneously reducing labor costs, HHI management pursued a strategy of micro-corporatism that involved granting concessions to regular workers while controlling wage increases for non-regular workers. The consolidation of this dualism with inequality was facilitated by the concurrent rise of business unionism. Finally, this article outlines conditions favorable to renewed class-based labor solidarity that have emerged at HHI recently, opening up the potential for a new round of successful workers’ struggles against workforce dualism.