CINA

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Following statement MTU released last Thursday (8.02):

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Last Thursday (8.02) KCTU published following statement/report about the current E.Land/New Core.. Struggle:

The Second Brutal Attack by the Police against the Striking Irregular Workers at E-Land and New Core:

There will be no more warnings. The police brutal acts will be avenged! (*)

  In the early morning on July 31, the police again violated the workers' right to strike. We now characterize the Roh Moo-hyun government, which has consistently resorted to force against the workers, as a government of violence. And we will make E-Land, the company that has mobilized thugs and threatened violence against the striking workers, regret the actions they have taken today under the protection of the government.

  After police forces dispersed striking workers on the 20th of last month, the government hasn't acted to bring the employers to the negotiating table. Rather they have sought to crush the calls of the workers. They have arrested a member of the trade union's negotiating committee, and have blocked the right of the workers to strike by applying for a provisional disposition regarding obstruction of business. Recently it has even provisionally seized the bank accounts of members and mobilized thugs to threaten force. These examples are only the most recent examples that confirm where the responsibility for the current crisis lies. As the second sit-in strike has shown violence will not resolve this stand-off.

  The management philosophy of E-Land, which promised 100% employment succession and guarantee of trade union activities when it acquired Carrefour's stores, is said to be 'work over money, and people over work.' This 'focus on people' in reality has translated into 10 hour days for 850 dollars in monthly wages, mass layoffs and outsourcing in order to evade direct employment and correction of discrimination, reduction in contracted workers, casualization of regular workers, and contracts of 3, 6, 9, and sometimes even 0 months. Their actions were a retail store of labor oppression under the name of cost-cutting. Workers worked on holidays and 24 hour shifts. The rest area for workers was turned into a praying room for religions activities aimed at raising sales. On top of it all, the collective bargaining agreement was violated by the management before the response from the workers. This is the essence of E-Land.

  Faced with such a situation, workers have for the first time joined a union and organized a sit-in strike. These women workers have taken their cause directly to the public, and many citizens have shed tears at their plight. But the government has crushed the actions by these workers with police shields, solely reiterating the claim that the actions were illegal. If the law and government force is used to trample on the majority of workers, then they cannot expect to be respected. E-Lands CEO, the head of a company which has engaged in unjust labor practices for over 10 years and now has laid off hundreds of female workers while utilizing negotiations as a tactical tool for repression, needs to be arrested. 

  The catastrophe that the government has brought on by protecting abusive companies and deceiving the public with the bill to protect irregular workers will only further the repression of irregular workers by employers. It can be expected that irregular workers will not stand by while this happens, and more struggles will occur. The country will have to bear the costs of social conflict, and responsibility lies solely with the employers and the government. They will have to pay a price.

On July 31, KCTU immediately had a meeting of representatives from the industrial unions and has decided that on the 21st of this month, a National Congress will be held that has only one item for discussion: resolving the New Core, E-Land issue. The Congress will resolve to extend the struggle to all levels of the organization. The regional offices will continue to organize activities to minimize sales at E-Land stores, and there will be concentrated efforts for '0 sales' on the 5th and 11th. On the 18th, there will be a workers' rally across the country with more than 50,000 workers participating. The only solution is an agreement that incorporates the demands of the workers at E-Land. If the government and E-Land want a dialogue, they must first apologize for the acts that have been committed so far...

KCTU's entire contribution, incl. a call for int'l solidarity/protest letter to the S.K. president, you can read here.


Related:
☞ UNI global union's special section for E.Land Struggle

☞ 이랜드자본규탄 4차 총력투쟁 모습 (P. Times, 8.05)

☞ 이랜드 노조, 전국매장 타격투쟁 (VoP, 8.05)

* "..will be avenged" REALLY???? When and how??

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First of all: Despite contrary news from yesterday "the US is considering a military solution of the hostage crisis in Afghanistan", according to the German (bourgeois) daily newspaper Die Welt. Only three days ago the German Der Spiegel predicted that if that will be happen "diplomats and political analysts are expecting - with a high probability - a blood bath" (i.e. all the hostages will be messacred)..

It seems that - at least in the opinion of the S.K. bourgeois media - a new wave of anti-Americanism is now spreading across S. Korea, at least in the "progressive" parts of the society (☞ S. Korean civic groups blame U.S. for hostage crisis, Yonhap, 8.03).

 
About ten days ago a S.K. netizen wrote following on Korean Action against Dispatch of Troops to Iraq/파병반대국민행동: 

Afghanistan resisters are holding korean missionaries and claiming withdrawal of korean troops. This terrible incident was made by korean government’s dispatch policy.

Now the situation is pushing President Roh Moohyeon to abyss. His politic crisis prevents him from forcing policy of dispatch not like 2003 year(He killed Kim Seonil by forcing dispatch troops in Iraq, 2003). So there’s a chance to save the victims. We should organize anti-war actions, claim withdrawal, save missionaries.

In this concern, a student questioned that “Isn’t it a fault of the missionaries, who using occupation of US army to mission Afghanistan people?”

He saw this argument in a newspaper. Today morning, korean right-wing newspapers insisted this kind of distortion, a distortion that it’s not about dispatch of Korean troops, but about religion.

We should make anti-war actions against this kind of distortion.

Yeah (even I don't agree with everything) there must be a MASS MOVEMENT!! But when 200 or 300 people are holding a candle light rally near Gwanghwamun.. That's definite NO mass movement - it will change complete NOTHING!!!


BTW 1: For me the Taliban (but also the majority of the Iraqi "resistance") are only representatives of the most reactionary way of oppression!
BTW 2: (Just) anti-Americanism(*) is also reactionary, at least complete stupid..
BTW 3: * but it can be used - uhuu~ I'm sorry! - for (eeh, more about it later^^)..

Well, in my opinion Hankyoreh is right when it said before y'day that "..Karzai’s government in Afghanistan is a creation of the Bush administration. The Afghan government depends on the U.S. administration" - complete on the US and NATO occupation forces.

The S.Korean gov't has definite no power to demand anything from the Afghan "gov't"! But the USA, together with the other NATO states, who are involved of the ongoing war there, have the power to force the Afghan "gov't" solve the hostage crisis - and it includes a possible prisoner swap - peacefully.

But only a S.K. mass movement is able to create a kind of pressure against its own gov't and on that way against the US administration.. (Don't forget that S.K. is the closest ally of the USA in Asia!!)

On the other side - if I understand it well - the ruling class (at least in S.K.) is already seeing the (possible) danger of such an development and react with counter measures, such as a (massive?) media campaign (likely supported by some/THE reactionary Christian forces): ☞ Hostage Families Reject Anti-American Rallies (Chosun Ilbo, 8.03)

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Yesterday (8.01) "Taliban 'Spokesman' Talked Exclusively to Chosun Ilbo":

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From today - as scheduled and announced by the S.K. gov't/MoJ - a new massive wave of crackdown (i.e. man hunt, imprisonment, mass deportation..) against un-documented migrant workers is starting. To inform and mobilize the S.K. public about/against that MWTV produced and released y'day following video:

 
8월에 시작 될 살인적인 합동단속

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Today in the early morning once again - and not surprising - the S.K. gov't answered the demands of E.Land/New Core/Homever workers with STATE TERROR!

During the extreme violent attack against the sit-in strike in Seoul's Gangnam New Core branch thousands of riot cops arrested at least 190 labour union activists:

Police Crack Down on E-Land Workers (K. Times, 7.31)
 

Thousands of police raided a discount store in southern Seoul Tuesday to disperse workers who have been holding a sit-in strike for the past three days calling for the reinstatement of dismissed non-regular workers and a pay raise.

About 5,000 police officers removed some 200 striking unionized workers from E-Land at around 5 a.m., Monday (likely the reporter means Tuesday^^). Although there were some scuffles initially, the police took the workers to police stations within one hour...

The workers chanted slogans such as ``End discrimination against non-regular workers'' and ``We denounce forced dispersion.''

The police also hauled away five officials from the progressive Democratic Labor Party who had joined the sit-in protest along with the striking workers (please watch a video about the "event" here).

Unionists and labor groups made it clear that they would continue their struggle until their demands are met...

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2007/08/117_7495.html

Related articles/ducumentaries:

☞ 7월31일 오후 교섭 결과 브리핑 (뉴코아-이랜드일반노동조합)

☞ 뉴코아 농성, 결국 전원 강제연행!! (노동의소리)

☞ 뉴코아 강남점 공권력 침탈, 조합원 전원연행 (VoP, incl. several videos)

☞ 경찰, 강남뉴코아 점거농성 강제진압 완료 (OhmyNews article, incl. video)

☞ Police break up E.Land rally (K. Herald)

☞ Police break up second E-Land sit-in (Hankyoreh)

Finally uni global union said in its today's contribution about the E.Land Struggle that..

..E.Land wants to destroy union with government support

 
E.Land is now out to destroy its workers' trade union in what is emerging as one of the dirtiest union-busting campaigns ever seen. In doing this, they are supported by a wavering but friendly and cooperative government, which readily accommodates the company's requests for riot police intervention and repression. The playing field is heavily slanted in the retailer's favour, and many government representatives don't even hide their views that the workers should just accept the mass lay-offs and all other management decisions.
 

An important part of employer strategy has been to lock up the main leaders of its trade union, to weaken the E.Land workers' capacity to negotiate. When their trade union confederation KCTU came in to support the struggle, it was heavily attached by the government and its labour minister as a 'third party' intervention. Apparently, the company and its friends in government had not counted on a broad labour support for the strike. Instead they must have thought that it would be easy to get out of the difficult situation by putting enough pressure on the workers and their workplace and company level union structures.

자본주의 박살내자!

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Today's (conservative) daily newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported:

Union retakes E.Land outlet in labor fight

Union members of the E.Land Group once again seized the Gangnam branch of New Core Department Store and began a sit-in demonstration, just nine days after police forced them out.

Yesterday, 500 members of E.Land, New Core and other labor groups entered Kim’s Club, a grocery unit located in the basement of New Core, pretending to be shoppers.

 
As Kim’s Club is open 24 hours a day, the union workers stayed until 2:10 a.m., which is when they pushed their shopping carts en masse to the cashier counters, thus blocking the aisles and succeeding in taking over the store.

 
Other labor groups included the umbrella Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which has declared an all-out fight against the company over its dismissal of non-regular workers, and the left-wing political group, Hanchongryeon. Regular customers and employees were let out of the building with no particular hassle.
This was the second time E.Land union members were able to take control of the department store. The first 21-day sit-in at the World Cup branch of Homever beginning June 30 and a 13-day sit-in at New Core beginning July 8 ended in police intervention. Both Homever and New Core are affiliates of E.Land.

 
The demonstrations began after E.Land refused to renew contracts for over 700 irregular workers, mostly cashiers, before a revised labor law protecting such workers went into effect on July 1.

Management complained that they were stabbed in the back, since they only received a proposal for negotiations two hours before the demonstration began. As in the earlier protest, they maintain that they will not begin full negotiations until the union moves out of the building.

The union claims that management made a return to protesting inevitable. After the July 20 raid, labor and management met once, but talks were cut off after 30 minutes after disagreements arose about where to negotiate and who could participate.

 
“Since the raid, management has not earnestly participated in negotiations,” said Hong Yoon-kyung, secretary general of E.Land’s labor union. Hong said that they will continue the sit-in for as long as it takes for New Core to withdraw its contract with an outsourced labor firm and guarantee employment to all workers.
E.Land management estimates that 40 billion won ($43.4 million) has been lost so far because of the strikes.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2878599

Yonhap (7.30): "E.Land union members clash with contract workers

hired by the company. Police intervened when the outsourced workers tried to

remove a barricade leading to Kim’s Club at the Gangnam branch of

New Core Department Store in southern Seoul, where the

union resumed a sit-in yesterday morning."

Tomorrow's K. Herald will publish following stuff:

Police poised to bust up E.Land sit-in 
 

Police were yesterday set to storm an E.Land outlet to end a sit-in by company workers and labor activists.

About 370 protesters occupied the underground section of the retailer's New Core outlet in southern Seoul on Sunday, demanding the release of arrested union leaders and the scrapping of the temporary workers law.

Seoul police yesterday held an emergency meeting to discuss a response to the occupation, which came nine days after police dispersed on July 20 union workers who had been holed up at two branches of the retailer for weeks.

"The timing of enforcement will depends on further developments there," a senior Seoul police officer told reporters.

Tensions were escalating near the New Core branch in Gangnam. More than 1,000 non-union E.Land workers and about 1,200 vendors in the New Core store gathered in and outside the building, calling on the unionists to leave the place.

They briefly clashed with about 300 protest supporters, including members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and civic group activists, in the afternoon.

https://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2007/07/31/200707310036.asp

But hundreds of activists are fighting for VICTORY!!

☞ 0730 뉴코아 강남점 새벽 풍경 (P. Times..)

☞ 7.30 강남 뉴코아아울렛 농성장 주변모습 (..pics and video)

☞ 뉴코아 강남점, 공권력 투입 임박 (VoP, incl. 3 videos)

☞ "점거 풀리자 손배가압류... 다시 농성할 수밖에" (OhmyNews)

☞ Supermarket occupation re-starts in Korea (UNI)

In the morning Hong Gil-dong wrote about last night's situation:

밤시간엔 농성투쟁 엄호사수 대오가 있는 뉴코아 건물 바깥 수백 대오가 모여 있는 곳 가까이에서
구사대가 격렬(?)히 집회 아인 집회를 밤 9시 넘어까지 하고 해산했습니다.
새벽 이 시간에도 바깥엄호대오들은 밤샘노숙농성으로 킴스 건물 안 농성대오를 엄호하고 있습니다.
오늘 하루가 또 어찌 전개될지 알 수 없습니다. 이랜드자본이 무릎꿇을 날이 얼마남지 않은 만큼
모든 동지들이 놓여있는 상황과여러 조건들이 어렵더라도
이 투쟁 승리할 때까지 끝까지 연대하고 함께 투쟁해서 비정규직 철폐의 그 길을 앞당기도록 합시다!

About the situation on the spot in the afternoon:

현재 뉴코아아울렛신관과 킴스클럽매장이 연결된 지하1층 매장통로에 전경을 사이에 두고 용역깡패와 구사대가 침탈을 시도하고 있습니다.

매장통로 사이에는 카트로 만든 바리케이트 외에는 아무것도 없으며, 어제의 도발보다 더 심하게 용역깡패와 구사대들이 난동을 피우며, 농성내부의 대오를 끌어내라며 경찰을 자극하고 있습니다.

농성장안에는 여성조합원이 대다수이며, 카트로 만든 바리케이트 외에 아무것도 없다는 점에서 침탈위협이 상당합니다.

연대대오의 연대가 절실합니다.
지금당장 강남점 킴스클럽 앞으로 모여주십시오.

이랜드 투쟁 승리!
자본주의 박살내자!

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Latest news about the struggle/strike against E.Land (Homever/New Core) capitalists:

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Related:

☞ Korean hostage crisis (CNN video, 7.27)

☞ Does Korea really see the world as it is? (Hankyoreh, 7.26)

☞ Afghan hostage crisis transfixes South Korea (IHT, 7.26)

PS:

Few days ago Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, spokesman of the Taliban, said the 'resistance fighters' know well the 23 Korean Christians visited Afghanistan in order to convert pure Muslims to Christianity, according to New York Times. "If they were not women, they would have been killed when captured," Ahmadi said.

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The S. K. gov't is planning a new wave of massive crackdown against so-called unducumented migrant workers, beginning next month (☞ 이주노조/MTU 제안) 
To made it public MTU held y'day in front of Seoul's Immigration Office in Mok-dong a press conference. There MTU also announced a mass demonstration (*) for 8.19 (2 pm, in front of Seoul Stn.) to protest against the planned new wave of crackdown.

25일 오전 11시 서울 출입국관리사무소 앞에서 미등록이주노동자 집중단속 방침 철회를 촉구하는 기자회견이 있었다.

이주노동자차별철폐와 인권·노동권 실현을 위한 공동행동 (이하 이주공동행동) 이 주최한 이 기자회견은 법무부가 고용허가제 시행 3년째가 되는 8월 1일부터 12월 말까지 대대적인 집중 단속을 실시한다는 방침을 밝힌 것에 대한 항의 행동이었다.
기자회견에는 이주공동행동에서 함께 활동하고 있는 단체들이 적극적으로 참여해 무려 110여 명이 함께했다.

이주공동행동은 이번 기자회견을 시작으로 이주노동자 집중 단속에 항의하는 전국적인 캠페인을 지역과 거리에서 진행하고 8월 19일에는 서울역 광장에서 대규모 도심 집회를 열 계획이다.

Source: 다함께

Source of the pics: ..지영동지

* 고용허가제 3년 규탄 및 단속추방 중단·이주노동자 인권·노동권 쟁취 결의대회
일시 : 8월 19일 오후 2시
장소 : 서울역 광장

For more please read (in Korean^^):

‘전국의 출입국사무소 앞 항의행동과 기자회견 시작예정' (이주노동자방송국)