CINA

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KCTU/THE S.K. LABOUR MOVEMENT:

The big, fat, evil monster, oppressing the poor capitalists

and their devote workers (^^)..

..this is actually the summarized content of following editorial, published in today's Chosun Ilbo:

Inside the Hyundai Motor Strike
   
It was difficult to find even the entrance of Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan plant. There were 18 different entrances to the 4.95 million sq.m compound. Once in, 13 tents pitched by striking workers came into view, with red banners reading “Vanguard of Struggle” and “Labor Oppression.” In front of the main building across from the tents were placards demanding the resignation of group chairman Chung Mong-koo, as well as signs demanding the immediate payment of a performance bonus. Inside the hall, unionized workers were playing Go games sitting on Styrofoam mats covered with heated blankets.

 
One union member in his 30s said he was aware of the resentment of the Korean public toward the workers. But he said the strike was justified as they were simply demanding unpaid dues. A union spokesman said the company led the union to strike on the back of public opinion. One senior union official screamed at the visiting journalists, angry at the way the media had portrayed them.
 

Not all of the unionized workers agreed. One union member said during lunch that outside people blame the workers for following the orders of the union leadership. But inside, the union member would suffer “a curse” if they say one wrong thing. When the union leadership stops the assembly lines, they are the ones who lose their wages. Another union member in his 40s expressed disgust at the fact that another strike had begun following more than 10 political ones last year. He was rather disappointed to hear that the bonus dispute had been settled without resolving the age-old problem.
 

One office worker at the Ulsan plant said the union structure resembled a French commune during the country’s 18th century revolution. “We can’t say anything against them,” the office worker said. He added that early in the week as unionized workers were carrying out partial strikes, union officials blocked lunch from being served at the company cafeteria, afraid workers would leave the protests to eat, while others blocked exits to make the workers continue striking.
 

At Hyundai Motor, everyone is afraid of the union. One high-ranking company official said in the factories, the power went over the union ten years ago. It’s the union leaders who have the authority to give orders, not the factory directors and managers. Another company official said, once a worker becomes a high-level union official, he ignores all of the company’s hierarchy. Company documents show high-level union officials receive a salary, overtime pay, their own car and gasoline from the company. Hyundai Motor even pays for their traffic fines. The company also pays for the furniture and all of the equipment inside the 1,155 sq.m union office. When asked how they feel about the arrest of a former union leader on charges of receiving 200 million won from the company in exchange for ending a strike during his tenure, one member said management officials were just as guilty for paying the bribe money.
 

There are people who end up with the short end of the stick. One contract worker said his take-home pay has shrunk drastically, because unionized workers, representing only full-time workers, were refusing overtime work. As he was saying those words, he looked around to make sure no union official was close by. Another contract worker said he probably wouldn’t be able to pay for his kid’s private lessons next month. He quoted union officials as saying production losses incurred during strikes should be covered by Chairman Chung’s slush fund.
 

The president of a subcontractor which has been supplying automotive parts to Hyundai for ten years said he and the 521 other parts suppliers were virtually held hostage by Hyundai’s union. He voiced jitters at the fact that a strike had taken place so early in the year following ten last year. The head of another parts supplier said Hyundai Motor should have played hard ball and refused to give into the union’s demands. He was afraid strikes would continue over other issues later in the year.

Hyundai Motor’s labor union was founded 20 years ago and they held strikes for 19 of those years. When a Hyundai worker, clad in a company coat, entered a restaurant in town, all eyes centered on him. The worker tried to ignore the glares, but finally walked out of the restaurant. The owner of another restaurant said she used to let Hyundai workers to write up a tab. But now she feels like slapping them. Some restaurants refuse to serve high-ranking Hyundai union officials, identifying them by their red jackets.
 

The heads of 49 business associations in Ulsan held a press conference at city hall urging the company to deal harshly with the union. One university student said he believed Hyundai’s union will hold more strikes. He wondered why they were doing that when people were getting more concerned about difficult business conditions facing the Korean auto industry.
 

The Hyundai Motor plant in Ulsan turns 40 this year. There are 28,000 regular workers and another 8,000 contract workers making a living there. When you include employees of partner companies, there are another 41,000 workers whose lives depend on Hyundai. One official at Ulsan City Hall said the lives of over 200,000 people, including the families of workers, depend on Hyundai Motor. But the company is at the mercy of the labor union. One business association official in Ulsan said Hyundai Motor’s management style needs to change too.

The residents of Ulsan did not appear happy to hear news of a breakthrough in negotiations Wednesday afternoon. They seemed to believe that unless radical changes happen in the way Hyundai Motor manages its workers, it will not see a drastic improvement in the quality and prices of its products sold overseas. Unless a miracle happens, the future of Hyundai Motor, the bulwark of Ulsan’s economy, which accounts for 4.4 percent of Korea total exports, is not very bright. This is what the people of Ulsan seemed to feel.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200701/200701180013.html

But finally - in my opinion(!!) - the fact that the S.K. bourgeois media is able to publish such a stuff, is also (partly) a fault of KCTU/the labour union's activists.. Just remember - for example - this:

☞ Today's struggle inside our union!

For more about the end of the strike of Hyundai Motor Workers Union:

☞ Hyundai Motor agrees to bonus, ending strike (JoongAng Ilbo, 1.18)