Six out of 10 migrant workers at Korea's domestic shipyards hope to change their jobs due to their low wages and tough labor conditions, according to a recent survey by the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), Friday.

In the survey of 410 foreign workers from 10 countries, who work at the shipyards of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean, 63.7 percent of the respondents answered that they intend to change their jobs to sectors other than shipbuilding.

Among them, 67.2 percent pointed out the low salary compared to the intensity of the labor, and 34.9 percent complained about being paid less than their Korean colleagues. In addition, 23.9 percent expressed concerns over the safety of their working conditions…

Some migrant workers said that they are victims of employment fraud…

The KMWU urged major shipbuilders, such as HD Hyundai, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries, to fulfill their responsibilities by improving the labor and residential conditions of migrant shipbuilding workers.

“Despite financial support from the government, the shipbuilders have remained reluctant to hire full-time blue-collar workers, relying more on subcontracted and outsourced labor,” the union said…