Emeute à l’usine à Pyeongtaek en Corée du Sud juillet 2009
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Ssangyong Motors confrontation continues
hani.co.kr
22 juilet 2009
As police move in to occupy the auto plant’s headquarters, industry analysts point to receivers for prolonging the struggle with the union over company’s recovery plan
The confrontation between police and unionists inside the Ssangyong Motors plant in Pyeongtaek moves into its second day.
Police attempts to enforce a court order for the unionists to leave the plant came to naught on Monday. On Tuesday police tried to approach the paint shop, where the unionists are gathered. Gyeonggi-do police deployed some 400 men in the afternoon and are occupying a warehouse next to the factory headquarters. The move has escalated tensions since the warehouse is a merely a few dozen meters away from the paint shop and provides a vantage point to the paint shop’s entrance.
Prior to occupying the factory headquarters, police advanced four lines of officers deployed inside the front gate some 20 meters to 30 meters at a time towards the paint shop beginning at 3:50 a.m. Later that morning, they also used a helicopter to spray tearing agents in the air above the paint shop. The unionists fired bolt air rifles and burned tires in response to the police advance. Police have deployed 10 companies inside the factory and 20 companies outside the factory for a total of 30 companies or 2,800 men. In order to resume the plant’s operations, the company also sent around 1,500 executives to work for the second day in a row to conduct inspections.
The Gyeonggi Province Police Agency’s Security Investigation Team deployed around 50 police in the morning to conduct a search of the office of the Gyeonggi-do Progressive Alliance in Suwon’s Jangan-dong on charges that the alliance was involved in the Ssangyong Motors strike. Police seized around 240 pieces of evidence, including computers during their one hour and 30 minute search. The group says it is considering suing the police for damages and for abusing their authority.
Criticism is being leveled against the union and the company for letting things get so tangled. The company is complaining that the union will not put forth a concrete plan other than demanding employment guarantees and a withdrawal of the layoffs, and is ignoring unconditional demands for dialogue from the union. Sentiment surrounding the situation, however, suggests the hard line of the automaker’s managers and joint receivers Lee Yu-il and Park Young-tae are prolonging the situation.
Lee Hang-koo, the leader of the Machinery Industry Team of the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, notes that the factory occupation needs to be resolved, but says the company has no concrete roadmap for reemployment. He says a recovery plan is needed that takes into consideration a financial perspective and also an industrial perspective in order to rebuild trust in Ssangyong motors, but the company has failed to provide one.
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]
Riot Police Enter Ssangyong Plant
www.koreatimes.co.kr
20 juillet 2009
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Thousands of riot police moved into the Ssangyong Motor factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, under a court order to disperse laid-off unionized workers who have occupied the factory for about two months.
But they refrained from forcibly removing the protestors from a building in the plant to avoid possible deadly clashes.
Officers succeeded in gaining control of most of the factory, except for a painting building in which about 700 of the fired workers had gathered in a last-ditch protest against the company’s layoff plan. The building reportedly contains more than 33,000 liters of inflammable material including paint thinner.
National Police Agency Commissioner Kang Hee-rak was cautious about raiding the building.
« Police have a duty to put a court order into practice, » Kang told reporters. « But I’m not considering pushing police into the building at the moment because it’s packed with dangerous material. We succeeded in taking control of the main administrative building and the research building in line with an agreement with Ssangyong management. »
The operation began around 11 a.m. as five court officials and Ssangyong creditors arrived at the scene with a court-issued letter ordering the protesters to leave the plant.
Ssangyong asked the court to order police to remove the striking workers in order to normalize operations. The request was approved early this month.
The company cut water and electricity supplies at 11:20 a.m. despite the risk of damaging machinery. Food deliveries have been suspended since last Friday.
« This is to get them out as soon as possible, » a Ssangyong executive said.
Previously, executives had been unable to meet the striking workers due to safety precautions, as some protesters shot steel nuts from rubber guns at the « invaders. »
The government and Ssangyong hope to disperse the protesters as soon as possible as the strike has already cost the automaker 230 billion won ($183.2 million) in lost production
Should the deadlock continue, Knowledge Economy Minister Lee Youn-ho said Ssangyong will have no choice but to file for bankruptcy.
« Ssangyong executives and associates believe that if assembly lines fail to resume operating this month, the automaker’s bankruptcy will be inevitable, » Lee said. « The government will map out a plan to provide support to Ssangyong after a court finally decides whether or not to keep it alive. »
The minister said the government has no plan to play an active role in reconciling the two parties, saying « government intervention in labor issues has never been successful. »
Ssangyong has laid off 36 percent of its work force, or 2,646 employees in a bid to survive the global economic turmoil.
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