POSCO 파업 #2

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S.K. capitalist class and its instrument of power - a.k.a. the gov't - is threatening once again with state terror against the working class!

(노무현독재자..??)

The S.K. semi-official news agency Yonhap reported today:

POSCO cuts off water supply to striking workers at head office

POSCO, South Korea's leading steel giant, turned off the water supply at its headquarters in this industrial city Thursday to pressure unionized workers to end their strike at the main office and disband.

The move comes after POSCO already cut the electricity supply Tuesday...

Presidential office warns strikers to leave POSCO building

The office of President Roh Moo-hyun said Thursday the government will sternly punish local construction workers who have illegally occupied the headquarters of steelmaker POSCO in the city of Pohang for eight days.

In a spokesman's statement, Roh's office, Cheong Wa Dae, said the government will deal with the illegal strikers at POSCO strictly in accordance with law and principles.

The statement came as an estimated 1,000 employees of POSCO's construction subcontractors have illegally occupied the POSCO building since July 13 to demand higher wages, improved working conditions and a ban on employment of foreign workers, among others. Pohang is located about 350 km southeast of Seoul.

Their protracted occupation and illegal strike have paralyzed the operations of POSCO, the world's fourth-largest steelmaker, resulting in a blow to its international corporate image.

"The construction workers have occupied the headquarters building of POSCO, which is totally irrelevant to their labor demands, in a violent and illegal manner, paralyzing POSCO's operations over a long period," said the statement read by Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Jung Tae-ho.

"That is an obvious illegality which could have a grave impact on social order and corporate management. Thus, masterminds and participants in the illegal strikes should be sternly punished," he said.

Reflecting the government's growing impatience with the POSCO sit-in, the country's chief of police made it clear that if the construction workers did not leave the building soon, action would be taken to evict them.

"Once safety measures are in place, the police will move into the the building to disband the striking workers," said Lee Taek-soon, head of the National Police Agency, during a visit to the protest site.

"The timing for police action will be decided on by the top police officer in North Gyeongsang Province," he said, calling on the workers to immediately halt their illegal protest and leave the building peacefully.

http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20060720/610000000020060720193241E8.html

And the bourgeois Korea Times will report in its tomorrow's edition:

POSCO Strikers Face Breakup

Chong Wa Dae said Thursday that it would employ all possible means to disband construction workers occupying POSCO’s headquarters in Pohang for a week-long strike.

``The government will deal sternly with the illegal occupation in accordance with law and principle,’’ presidential spokesman Jung Tae-ho said in a press briefing after a daily meeting of presidential staffers to check on pending issues.

He added those who are involved in the violent demonstrations and those behind the scenes would be held responsible, while also criticizing the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP) for supporting the ``illegal acts.’’

Earlier in the morning, Minister of Labor Affairs Lee Sang-soo also expressed his strong will to launch the forceful removal of the workers unless they voluntarily withdraw from the building.

``The current occupation is a clearly illegal union activity. We urge the workers to immediately withdraw from the building,’’ said Lee at a press conference in Kwachon, Kyonggi Province.

``Unless workers do not break up voluntarily, we cannot but resort to forceful removal,’’ he said.

He said it is incomprehensible that the workers are occupying the building of POSCO, Korea’s largest steel maker, as their negotiation partner is not POSCO but a group of Pohang construction companies. Many of the companies are contractors of POSCO and they have been talking over wages and working environment, on the condition that the striking workers give up their control of the building.

``We are currently not in a position to arrange negotiation talks between the construction workers' union and a group of Pohang construction companies,’’ he said. ``We have set up a task force team geared toward addressing irregularities stemming from the complicated subcontracting contracts in the construction industry.’’

About 2,000 workers from subcontractors to POSCO forced themselves into the company's office building on July 13, protesting against management's decision to request police intervention in a strike led by a regional industrial union of construction workers. The police broke in to disband the protesting workers twice to no avail.

However, in response to the government's statement, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said it will fight till the end until their needs are met. ``We cannot understand the government which calls our occupation of the building as illegal. We will not give up,'' according to its statement.

About 10,000 members of police, including 1,000 members of special crack unit have been around the building getting ready for the confrontation.

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200607/kt2006072018054011990.htm

THE GOV'T LIKELY IS PREPARING FOR CIVIL WAR, OR WHAT!?