Members of the National Ready-Mix Concrete Transport Workers' Union, who have suspended operations to demand a wage and collective bargaining agreement, rally in front of the Construction Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Monday, chanting slogans to call for an end to unfair trade practices. [Yonhap]
Members of the National Ready-Mix Concrete Transport Workers' Union, who have suspended operations to demand a wage and collective bargaining agreement, rally in front of the Construction Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Monday, chanting slogans to call for an end to unfair trade practices. [Yonhap]

4,200-won raise from rejected first deal kept intact

Contract period shortened to end February 2027

Union vote this week seen as pivotal

A second tentative agreement has been reached in the Greater Seoul ready-mix concrete labor dispute. The deal, secured after the government stepped in as mediator and both sides worked through the weekend, keeps the previously rejected 5.5 percent pay raise — equivalent to 4,200 won per trip — but shortens the contract period from one year to eight months. Whether it takes effect hinges on a membership vote.

Greater Seoul ready-mix concrete manufacturers and the National Ready-Mix Concrete Transport Federation reached the second tentative agreement during marathon talks that began at 2 p.m. Sunday. The deal calls for a 4,200-won increase in the transport fee per trip, with the new rate applying from July 1, 2026, through Feb. 28, 2027. Compared with the first tentative agreement that union members voted down, the raise is identical but the contract term is shorter.

Earlier, the two sides had reached a tentative agreement under Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport mediation to raise the Greater Seoul transport fee by 4,200 won per trip. The existing rate stood at around 75,800 won ($55) per trip, which meant the deal would have brought the unit price to 80,000 won. Union members rejected it in a vote, with 68.3 percent opposed, and the strike continued.

The second tentative agreement is widely seen as essentially reviving that rejected proposal. Manufacturers held firm on the 4,200-won increase without offering additional money, while the federation appears to have secured the shorter contract term as grounds to persuade members — leaving room to renegotiate in March 2027 and framing the deal as "return to work now, revisit later."

Whether the agreement will clear a membership vote, however, remains uncertain. When the first deal was rejected, most union members felt the 4,200-won raise fell short of expectations. The federation had originally demanded an 8,000-won increase per trip, while manufacturers had offered around 1,500 won. The 4,200-won figure was a compromise, but it failed to overcome resistance from drivers on the ground.

Some analysts say the situation has shifted somewhat this time. The prolonged strike has caused mounting disruptions to concrete pours at construction sites across Greater Seoul, and social pressure has grown as the impact reached the Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory construction site in Pyeongtaek. At some ready-mix concrete plants in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, shipments bound for the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek campus construction site were blocked, directly raising the prospect of delays to pouring schedules.

Industry officials believe that if the second tentative agreement passes, supply disruptions in Greater Seoul will begin to ease. The pressure on pouring schedules at major industrial sites — including the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek semiconductor factory and the SK Hynix semiconductor cluster in Yongin — could also be relieved. If the revote fails again, however, the strike risks entering a prolonged phase.

Meanwhile, according to the Korea Federation of Construction Contractors, as of 5 p.m. June 12, concrete pours totaling approximately 160,000 cubic meters had been delayed due to supply stoppages across 117 construction sites run by 25 large construction companies in the Greater Seoul area — the equivalent of roughly 26,200 mixer truck loads. About 19,000 construction sites are currently active in the region.


hong@heraldcorp.com