Kim Jin-suk to follow decision by laid-off workers

Posted on : 2011-10-10 10:17 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
HHIC’s workers contemplate a recommendation by the National Assembly that could see the end of her ongoing aerial protest
 Direction Committee member of the Busan branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)
Direction Committee member of the Busan branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)

By Kim Kwang-soo, Busan Correspondent 

“If the laid-off workers make a decision, I will abide by it.”

Kim Jin-suk said in an interview with the Hankyoreh on Sunday that she would abide by any official position established by the committee for the struggle against Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) layoffs on a National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee recommendation.

The 51-year-old Direction Committee member with the Busan office of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) is currently in the 277th day of an aerial protest in a shipping crane at HHIC’s Yeongdo shipyard in Busan. Kim indicated she would follow the decision unconditionally, even if it differs from her own position. This means that she could end her protest if the committee votes in favor of her doing so.

When asked her opinion on the recommendation, Kim said, “If the four people protesting with me in the crane talk about the National Assembly recommendation, the laid-off workers are inevitably going to be conscious of our position on matters.”

“In order to respect the positions of those people struggling together down there, the crane protesters have decided not to state their personal views,” she added.

Kim avoided giving a direct answer when told that some of the workers objected to wording in the recommendation about “post-layoff rehiring” rather than “reinstatement.”

“My understanding is that opposition members of the National Assembly drafted to recommendation using the expression ‘rehiring’ to offer a pretext for the company while including content about withdrawing the layoffs in terms of substance,” she said.

Kim expressed a positive opinion on HHIC Chairman Cho Nam-ho’s acceptance of the recommendation.

“After saying he could not withdraw the layoffs per se, Cho has not lived up to expectations,” she said. “But the fact that he was shedding tears at the National Assembly, an institution representing the people of South Korea, as he accepted a recommendation for reemploying laid-off workers within one year and providing 20 million won for living expenses is an achievement of the struggle.”

“I believe that Mr. Cho will keep the promise he made at the National Assembly, an institution that represents South Koreans,” Kim added.

Kim also gave a speech by telephone Sunday morning to the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters in the United States. Her message was broadcast over speakers hooked up to a local mobile phone and translated for the protesters. Kim said, “I told them, ‘The masses around the world are suffering under neoliberalism. South Korea, too, has seen continued layoffs and large amounts of temporary employment since the foreign exchange crisis of 1997. This is why five caravans of Hope Buses have traveled to Busan. The occurrence of demonstrations on Wall Street, the heart of the global financial world, is a symbol that clearly expresses the problems of neoliberalism.’”

Kim added that she ended the interview with the words, “Together to the end.”

Meanwhile, an official with the committee fighting the layoffs expressed personal opposition to the mediated plan. “I can accept the use of the term ‘reemployment’ if some proviso is added recognizing the layoff period as part of [the employees‘] years of employment,” the official said.

Some of the workers are also expressing skepticism about the pledge to provide 20 million won ($17,041) in living expenses over the one-year period as they await reinstatement.

But others are pinning hopes on negotiations. Most crucially, the momentum behind the campaign that has seen five Hope Bus caravans is fading away. One of the laid-off workers said, “It is unfortunate we have to wait a year, but even if we were reinstated now, there is no work for us.”

“I just hope the negotiations go well,” the worker added.

  

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