By Eva Cheng
On July 23, thousands of workers of South Korea's largest vehicle producer, Hyundai Motors, continued to block production at the company's key plant at Ulsan despite the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions earlier that morning calling off a scheduled general strike.
The KCTU said it suspended the strike to allow continuing negotiation on two remaining unresolved issues after winning agreement on eight others. It stressed that the strike could be resumed if those demands are not met.
But the Hyundai workers took no chances. Reversing management's July 20 decision to sack 2678 of them was one of the two unmet demands. Giving the KCTU full consultation on any new restructuring was the other.
A KCTU-led general strike planned for June 10 to defend jobs was called off at the last minute to allow negotiations with the government.
An agreement was later reached but was totally ignored when the government announced the closing down of five banks and the privatisation of major utilities in which at least 10,000 workers would lose their jobs.
The KCTU led a general strike on July 14-16 in protest and scheduled the July 23 mobilisation to step up the pressure.
Hyundai management had planned to resume production on July 23 after having been forced to close the plant by 10,000 protesting workers, of whom 5000 camped outside around the clock after the July 20 lay-off announcement. By July 23, the workers still refused to go, forcing the management to declare a continuing closure until July 27.
To express their determination, Kim Kwang-shik, president of the Hyundai Motors Workers Union, and 300 shop stewards shaved off their hair during a July 22 rally of 10,000 workers.
In solidarity, 60,000 members of the Korean Metal Workers Federation joined the protest later that day. There was a growing consensus that if the Hyundai workers lost their fight, the jobs of other workers would be under threat.
Shortly after Hyundai's lay-off announcement, Daewoo Motors unveiled its plan to cut 2995 jobs, and the Samsung group aims to sack 20% of its workers.
On July 21, three ex-presidents of the union climbed a 100-metre smokestack at the Hyundai plant, vowing to stay there until the workers' demand are met.
More than 5700 Hyundai Motors workers have sought "voluntary retirement" so far this year under pressure of the management's January plan to lay off 10,166 workers, 22% of the company's 46,132 work force.
Workers were angered by management's insistence on massive job cuts despite their earlier offer to accept job-sharing, a reduction in working hours and rotational leave with a big cut in pay in order to save jobs. Their actions opposing the job threat have so far inflicted 217.18 billion won (US$169.5 million) worth of losses on Hyundai.
As of July 20, nearly 100 KCTU national, federal and local leaders were still in hiding after warrants to arrest them were issued. Five had been captured then, and 16 more were seized on July 22. At least 25 student activists from the Anti-Imperialist Youth League, supporting the strikers, were also reported arrested.
The KCTU has reported that thousands of unemployed homeless workers have turned the Seoul railway station plaza into their home.
The officially unemployed have reached 1.5 million, or 7%, compared to 2.3% in November when the economic crisis first broke. According to a recent government report, there are 27 suicides every day attributable to job loss.