Workers from Zhejiang Zhenghe Shipbuilding went on strike at the entrance of the shipyard on 1 September.
The shipyard sent a text message to its workers at around 10 pm on 31 August, informing them that the company will suspend its operation beginning 1 September due to financial issues, and staff’s creditor rights shall wait until further notice, according to a worker’s post on social media.
Some workers went on strike the next day after receiving the notice, and photos on social media showed that dozens of workers sat at the entrance of the shipyard. Others went to the local government to seek for help in the afternoon of 1 September.
A source from the yard told IHS Maritime that the yard had promised to make the payment to workers on 28 August, but was postponed to 31 August. However, no one has been paid yet until now.
A senior executive from the yard stated that before noon 2 September, the company will halve the salaries in July, and the remaining salaries of July and August will be paid before 10 September.
Zhejiang Zhenghe Shipbuilding has filed for restructuring at a Chinese court because of operational difficulties resulting from financial problems in March.
The yard will enter an official restructuring process in due time, according to its application for restructuring. It predicted that a complete restructuring plan will be published in three to five months.
According to IHS Maritime’s Sea-web.com, the yard’s orderbook consisted of nine bulk carriers, which are on order by China Huarong Financial, Seatankers Management, and Zhangjiagang Wan Peng Wood. The earliest delivery scheduled in May is for the 67,000 dwt He Rong.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
