A government firing system, which allows for mass dismissals simply because of “tense management,” is also being used effectively as a means of neutralizing labor unions, and if the conditions for dismissal are eased further, as the Ministry of Labor recently proposed to do via a revision of the Labor Standards Law, labor rights infringements will become more severe, some are commenting.

Hanil Construction Co., Ltd., which had a net profit of 37 billion won (US$27.9 million) last year, recently carried out a restructuring plan. Wages for all staff, more than 460 people, were cut by 10 percent, and on December 1 a total of 43 office workers were ordered to work from home, which earns them only 70 percent of the ordinary wage. Calling this “unilateral restructuring,” the workers assigned to work from home formed a labor union on December 12.

The company announced four days later that it was implementing “voluntary resignations.” If workers submitted voluntary resignations, they would be paid severance pay, but if they did not, they would be dismissed without severance. The 13 union members who did not submit voluntary resignations received notice of their dismissal on Tuesday.

A union member expressed objections, saying, “The workers are already participating in overcoming the crisis, for example with wage cuts, and (the company) suddenly announced voluntary resignations and dismissals to neutralize the labor union.”

“We formed the union to discuss plans for sharing the suffering together, and they unjustly dismissed workers,” said Jeong Chang-hyeop, the union’s secretary-general.

In response, administrative managing director Son Yeong-ho explained, “We had already been pursuing voluntary resignations and dismissals because of a deteriorated management environment, and they are unrelated to the formation of the labor union.”

Son said that discussions had been conducted through the labor-management council, but Jeong called the council “an organization without substance.”

Criticisms that employers are using dismissals not only for personnel reduction but also for their effect of suppressing labor union activity have been presented previously. Heungkuk Life Insurance dismissed 19 workers in 2005 because “current term net profits dropped,” but 70 percent of the workers dismissed were labor union officials. Following several previous disciplinary firings by the company, the officials had received court verdicts reinstating them.

“In the case of dismissals where ‘management reasons’ are cited, it is difficult for a dismissed worker to get a verdict of unjust firing,” said Kim Deuk-ui, secretary of the Committee for the Struggle to Reinstate Dismissed Heungkuk Life Insurance Workers. “Dismissals are basically being used to suppress labor unions,” Kim added.

“Even now, when conditions and procedures are stipulated, the dismissal system is used not only for mass firings but also as a means of suppressing labor union activity,” said Kwon Doo-seob, a lawyer at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions legal center. If the conditions for dismissal are eased, this tendency will become more pronounced, Kwon said.

“The biggest problem is that throughout society, including in the courts, the mass firing of workers is considered a right of the employer,” Kwon noted.

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