Preparatory committee established for first fully fledged POSCO union ever 

Posted on : 2018-09-13 17:04 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Potential members selected by KMWU and KCTU
The POSCO steel mill in Pohang
The POSCO steel mill in Pohang

Is POSCO about to see its first fully-fledged union?

An intense push is currently under way to establish a union at POSCO, which has operated without unions for the 50 years since its establishment. A preparatory committee has already been established for the “new POSCO labor union.” Potential members are currently being recruited, with targets of membership in the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU) and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and a launch next month.

“We’ve been accepting applications for POSCO union membership since Sept. 6 and plan to finish building the organization by October at the latest,” a KMWU official said.

“What drove us to change our minds and form a democratic union were the changes in management that occur every time the administration changes, the corruption, and the government-business collusion,” the official added, predicting that “unionless management will be a thing of the past.”

No official launch date has been announced for the union, which is currently being established behind the scenes by a subset of workers, but the current target is to have a launch next month following a closed-door general meeting on Sept. 15, sources said.

POSCO’s history has not been entirely union-free. After its previous union was dismantled with the defection of its members in 1990, a “labor-management council” was formed in 1997, substituting in the union’s role of employee wage negotiations and discussions on working conditions. Several attempts have been made to establish a new union at POSCO – each unsuccessful. Once the union is officially launched, it will be the first fully-fledged union in POSCO’s 50-year history.

Although POSCO had long remained alongside Samsung as a company free from labor union activity, sources said it has been significantly impacted since a union was established at Samsung Electronics last February. In a recent statement, KCTU said it “support[s] the decision by POSCO workers to bring an end to the dark ‘no union’ history of POSCO, which existed along with Samsung as one of the twin pillars of ‘no union’ management in the Republic of Korea.”

POSCO is watching the current developments closely.

“It looks as though KCTU plans to be proactive, and there have been activities like that in the past,” a company official said.

“There are a lot of differences among the employees, but the company is not in a position to state its views,” the official cautiously added.

The push to form a union is seen as likelier to succeed than ever, with a new administration in office pledging reform and new POSCO chairman Choi Jeong-woo advocating a “With POSCO” vision and a spirit of “corporate citizens advancing together.” But some at POSCO were somewhat indifferent about the move, wondering if it means they “have to join KMWU now.”

In response, KMWU said, “While POSCO has kept itself free of unions through monitoring that has astonished the other chaebols, democratic unions now represent a tide that cannot be turned back.”

By Hong Dae-seon, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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