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Twenty-five workers who were let go by in-house subcontractors at GM Korea’s Bupyeong and Gunsan factories launched a hunger strike in front of the factory in Incheong’s Bupyeong District on Aug. 26. The protesters are calling on the company to give the illegal temp workers at the in-house subcontractors the status of regular employees and to reinstate all the terminated workers. Photo provided by the union chapter for irregular workers at GM Korea

Twenty-five irregular workers at GM Korea have launched a hunger strike without announcing a definite endpoint. The workers are calling on the company to turn illegal temp workers into regular employees and to quickly reinstate workers let go by subcontractors, who have borne the brunt of massive layoffs during the restructuring process.

The workers launched their indefinite hunger strike at 2 pm on Aug. 26, with their protest taking place in front of the entrance to GM Korea’s factory in Incheon’s Bupyeong District. All the workers have been let go by in-house subcontractors for GM Korea, 20 from the factory in Bupyeong and five from the factory in Gunsan.

The protest is taking place where 45-year-old Lee Yeong-su, who was fired last year from an irregular position at Bupyeong Factory No. 2, is holding an aerial protest on a 9m tower that he built the previous day using construction equipment.

In addition to converting irregular temp workers to regular workers, the members of the hunger strike are calling for the reinstatement of 46 labor union members who are among the in-house subcontractor workers let go from the Bupyeong and Gunsan factories during restructuring at GM Korea.

“While GM Korea has been carrying out a series of restructuring measures on the pretext of a management crisis, its top priority has always been kicking irregular workers out of its factories. The workers who abruptly lost their jobs have been desperately waiting for the day when they can return to the factory while enduring the pain and despair resulting from their termination,” the protesters said.

The protesters also called on GM Korea to “decide whether it will be disgraced as a ‘dine-and-dash capital’ or whether it will live up to the expectations of the local community by making a wise decision and quickly reinstating these workers.” Since last year, the company has received 810 billion won (US$668 million) in tax relief from the government, as well as various tax breaks from the city of Incheon.

“When I joined the company in my early 30s, there were 1,500 workers in the main in-house subcontractors at the Bupyeong factory. Now, 11 years later, there are barely 500. During every round of restructuring, the company has treated irregular workers as sacrificial lambs. The 46 workers could certainly be reinstated, as long as GM is willing,” said Lee, who began his aerial protest the day before.

By Jeon Jong-hwi, staff writer

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