Ssangyong strike ends as sides find late compromise
Striking Ssangyong Motor workers board a bus to be taken to police stations for questioning last night after labor union leaders and management representatives struck a compromise deal earlier yesterday. [NEWSIS]
At the union’s request, final negotiations began at noon inside a container located in the “peace zone” between the headquarters building and the paint factory. Earlier negotiations had broken down on Sunday. Lee Yoo-il, one of the automaker’s two court-ordered trustees, said the sides agreed that 52 percent of the 976 workers will lose their jobs while the rest will be put on unpaid leave.
Management had originally proposed to sack 60 percent of the workers and give 30 percent unpaid leave. The remaining 10 percent would be assigned to work on different jobs.
Union leaders had earlier insisted the management rehire the workers by offering unpaid leave.
Shortly after word about the successful deal spread at 2 p.m., over 400 striking workers who staged the sit-in protest at the factory poured outside. Police checked their identification. Some strikers were taken to nearby police stations for questioning while others returned home, police said.
Police classified union members four ways: regular, outside, executive and violent. “[Police] will not pour cold water on the amicable atmosphere by arresting every striking worker,” an officer said.
Ko Ki-cheol, a police officer at Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency, said certain union members will be taken for questioning at police precincts under the jurisdiction of the Gyeonggi Police. Police already had either sought or obtained arrest warrants for 27 members of the union’s executive council.
Han Sang-kyun, head of the Ssangyong Motor labor union, voluntarily turned himself into the Pyeongtaek Police Precinct after the deal was struck.
According to Ssangyong Motor, the company suffered 316 billion won ($258 million) in losses because it failed to produce 14,590 vehicles on schedule since May 22, when striking workers seized the factory demanding reinstatement. Ssangyong officials, however, said there still is a ray of hope. The paint factory - composed of two main buildings - was not severely damaged as officials had feared.
After assessing the damage, Ssangyong officials concluded they would be able to resume production as soon as the end of the month.
Meanwhile, creditors of Ssangyong Motor’s subcontractors withdrew their request to Seoul Central Court to liquidate the automaker. “Heads of subcontractors will meet on Aug. 10 and discuss ways to lead to the smooth resumption of supplying goods [to the automaker],” Choi Byeong-whoon, a senior member of the Ssangyong subcontractor creditor group, said.
Faced with an acute credit crunch, Korea’s smallest automaker filed for court receivership in February and in April made public a plan to lay off part of its workforce. Protesting the decision, the unionized workers occupied Ssangyong’s Pyeongtaek plant on May 22, paralyzing company operations. Despite the union’s protest, management decided it was necessary to lay off 976 workers on June 8. Negotiations over the workers’ fate broke down on June 19.
While talks eventually resumed on July 30, tensions escalated rapidly inside and outside the plant as violent clashes between striking and non-striking workers erupted. On Wednesday, Police managed to secure every building adjacent to the factory.
By Choe Sun-uk, Kim Mi-ju [mijukim@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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