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In case you do not know, the 190 day strike by shipbuilding workers for Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction(HHIC) in Busan has come to an end. Last Monday(6.27) the union leadership has made an arrangement with the management to end the strike without the union being liable for "damages" due to the strike. Workers who participated in the strike are also not to be reprimanded for striking. However the agreement does not repeal the company layoffs.

Workers and their families are still angry with the new arrangement between union leadership and management because the settlement does not allow for the reinstatement of the laid off workers. In response to this workers have protested and blockaded the workplace. Workers and their families do not want to accept the deal imposed by management and the union leadership. Workers are calling for a total victory in an end to all layoffs.

Last Tuesday's Hankyoreh published the following editorial referring to the issue:

HHIC union’s unexpected compromise

Yesterday, Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) labor union leaders made the decision to call off its general strike after 190 days and return to work. The union reportedly made the decision after reaching an agreement with the management on four issues. These were offering voluntary resignation to those of 170 terminated employees who are interested, and canceling criminal cases and accusations on both sides. But with no withdrawal of the layoffs, the key demand of the strike, the sense of conflict and crisis is actually greater.

Dozens of union members are now joining the tower crane protest of Kim Jin-suk, a Direction Committee member for the Busan chapter of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). We have even seen the plaintive spectacle of dismissed HHIC workers tying themselves to the crane with rope and crying, “Save us.”

The abrupt decision by the union’s leadership to call off the strike appears to have been motivated by concerns about the possibility of the union’s annihilation with the introduction of government forces if it were to physically resist forcible proxy execution of a court order to vacate the premises. A growing sense of strike fatigue also appears to have been a factor, with some members abandoning the strike as it drew out over six months, and many experiencing extreme hardship.

Nevertheless, it is highly dissatisfying to see the union’s leadership agreeing to call off the strike at a time when political and social interest in the HHIC situation is at a peak, with the National Assembly scheduled to hold a hearing with HHIC Chairman Cho Nam-ho on Wednesday. What this means is that the day was carried by company’s immoral power logic of irresponsibly laying off masses of workers, citing “financial reasons.”

The agreement across party lines to hold a hearing is clear evidence that fundamental responsibility for this situation lies with the company. In particular, Cho drew public indignation by traveling overseas in order to avoid appearing before the National Assembly. Even civil society lent its support for the HHIC workers with an unprecedented deployment of “Hope Buses.” The people of South Korea are likely to be experiencing no small amount of consternation and disappointment to see the union calling off the strike under these circumstances. This is also the reason for the expression of dismay by the KCTU and Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), who contended that union member opinions were not properly gathered.

The union’s leadership may have agreed to call off the strike, but the HHIC situation is not over. The worker layoffs are a present-tense situation that must be withdrawn. The National Assembly should examine the improper nature of the layoffs at Cho’s hearing. If he does not attend, it should lodge an accusation. Cho, for his part, should not come to the mistaken conclusion that the situation was wrapped up with the decision to call off the strike. He needs to put his head together with the workers to reach a solution on the layoffs.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/484847.html

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