총 8페이지

PAGE4
APRIL1,2001
NATIONAL
http://maincc.hufs.ac.kr/~theargus
AnotherFrustratingDecision
THEEYESOFTHEARGUS
ExpandSocialSafetyNet
ThreateningBasicLaborRights
I
thasbeenthreeyearsnowsincereformsinthecorporate,finance,laborandpublic
sectors were launched with the inauguration of Kim Dae-jung’s government in
L
February 1998. He has always emphasized ‘constant restructuring’ according to the
ast February 28th, the National
Thenextbestthingtokeeptheirrightsis
logic of market competitiveness and that the government would pursue a market
Assembly had postponed giving
toestablishtheirowntradeunions.Laborers
economyanddemocracyequally.
permission on having multiple unions in a
working at Myongwall-kwan, the Korean
Thereformdriveoriginatedfromtherationalethattheeconomiccrisisattheendof
single company until 2006, abiding by the
food facility in the Sheraton Walker Hill
1997 was caused by structural problems in all sectors of society and has been
Tripartite Commission’s decision. On this
Hotelarelistedasirregularworkers.Asthe
maintaineduptonow.Kim’sneo-liberalisticreformdrivehasforcedallpeopletolive
decisiontheKoreanConfederationofTrade
existing union refused their becoming
underthemarket’sjunglelawandforcedcompetitivenessinallpartsofoursociety.
Unions (KCTU) had filed a suit with the
members of the union, they could not help
Moreover,Kim’sreformdrivepolicydividesworkersintocontractandnon-contract
International Labor Organization (ILO) on
establishing their own union. Of course the
workers, employed and unemployed workers in the labor market and forces workers
the grounds of the Korean government’s
company put pressure upon the impotent
onlytodotheiractivitiesunderthestressofcompetitiveness.Inthisprocess,Kim’sneo-
decision violating Article 2 of the ILO
union. “The hotel transferred a member of
liberalistic reform drive worsens social inequality and instability of life. We are
ConventionNo.87.
parking team to the washing team and a
confrontedwithmassunemployment,adeepeningincomegap,andagrowingsuicide
AndonMarch28th,theILOexpresseda
waitertotheteampreparingthetoastingnet
andcrimerateduetohouseholdbankruptcies.
deep regret at the Korean government’s
becausetheytooktheinitiativeintheunion.
The National Statistical Office (NSO) said that the number of jobless exceeded 1
decision and advised to approve the
Butaswehavenolegalunion,wemustdo
million,andtheunemploymentratewas5percentinFebruary.Eventhoughthejobless
establishment of multiple unions. The
asthefirmtoldusandsufferanignominious
figures usually reach their highest point in February it is still a serious social issue.
Korean government has continuously been
defeat,” said a member who had his
Especially,theunemploymentofthepeoplein40sand50s,whoarestillsupposedtobe
pressured by the ILO to permit multiple
occupation changed unjustly by the hotel.
pillars of the national economic activities, has a tendency to be increasing due to the
unions since her entry to the ILO in 1991.
Hence the irregular workers in Myongwall-
government’sunilateralrestructuringprograms.Andthegovernmenthasnotcomeup
Withthis,Koreacontinueditsdishonorasa
kwanhadbeenwaitingforanopportunityto
with any specific ideas on how to solve the high unemployment among those people
backwardcountryinlaborconditions.
setupatradeunionlegally.Becauseofthis
comparingwithithelpingjoblessyoungpeople.Thegovernmentandcorporationsare
revision,however,theirregularworkerswho
pushing painful restructuring measures at the expense of laborers and other common
I.ViolationofConstitution
have to extend their anguish for five more
LeeMin-a/TheArgus
people.
Article33,Paragraph1oftheConstitution
years. “It is highly unfair to put off the
Irregularworkersarecallingfortheimprovementofworkingcondition.
Thegovernmentisalsowillingtohaveonlyputaheavierburdenonpeopletosolve
states “To enhance working conditions,
establishment of multiple unions when the
the national medical system’s financial crisis after the introduction of the system
workers shall have the right to have
number of irregular workers has already
separatingtheroleofdoctorsandpharmacists.Andthelow-incomebracketissuffering
independent association, collective
labor is a decisive element for firms’
monopolize the power over all trade unions
exceededthatofregularones.Now,irregular
seriousfinancialdifficultiesbecauseofthehighinterestratesaftertheabolishmentof
bargaining.”Therightoforganizationmeans
competitiveness.Theyareagainstpermitting
and the strategy of the government and
workersfallintoanabsoluteno-rightsstate,”
thelawimposinganinterestrateceiling.Thephenomenonoftherichbecomingricher
thatlaborerscangettogethertoimprovethe
multiple unions because of the hardship to
employers who aim to prevent the
stressed the policy planning committee for
andthepoorbecomingpoorerhasbeendeepeninginsocietysincetheabolishmentof
working conditions and their social status.
labormanagement.Apersoninchargeofthe
emergence of an independent labor
theirregularworkers.
thelaw.
Every laborer can establish a trade union
Federation of Korea Trade Unions (FKTU)
movement.
IV.Conclusion
Allthesepoliceshavebeencarriedoutinthenameofincreasingtheefficiencyand
freely based on the right to organize. This
advocates putting off the establishment of
competitivenessofsocietywithoutasocialsafetynettoalleviateitssideeffects.Inthis
alsomeansthatanybodywhosecededfrom
multiple unions, “If multiple unions are
III. Blockade of irregular workers’
Ofcourse,theidealsolutionistheregular
rightstoorganizetheirunions
process, the instability of the common people has increased and the gap between the
the existing union or didn’t want to join it
permitted, there would be a possibility to
workers accepting the problem of the
richandthepooriswidening.
hastherighttoestablishanotherunion.
obstruct the normal function of an existing
Since the financial crisis, the number of
contract workers as theirs and embracing
The inequality of wealth distribution’s among the classes is worsening and the
TheTradeUnionAct,however,statesthat
tradeunionandtocomeintobeingcompany
irregular workers has grown rapidly.
thempositively.Becauseeveniftheirregular
minoritieswhoarealienatedinthecompetitivestruggletomaketheirliving.Afterthey
only one union can be established at one
unions.”
Accordingtoalatestsurveys,Korea’sshare
workers had their trade unions legally, it is
participated in the sharing the pains of economic reforms to improve the nation’s
companyorindustry(Article3Paragraph5).
However, having one unique union
ofirregularworkersaccountedfor53percent
too difficult to maintain those unions
economy,thereturntothemisonlytheseverepainofhardliving.
It has undermined the right of choice for
doesn’t necessarily mean concurrence.
ofallemployees.
comparedtothatoftheregularworkers.But
Wecannotbutwonder,“forwhomshouldwesharethepainanddorestructuring?”
workerswhodonotwanttojointheexisting
Seeking concurrence in a union is achieved
Whenallissaidanddone,thepeoplewho
it is impossible for the regular workers’
Many people are talking about having “no hope”. Common people’s livelihood, the
trade union structure. Then in 1997,
notbythelaw,butthroughlaborers’efforts.
suffer most due to the delay in permission
union to accept the contract workers with
mostimportantandessentialmatter,isworsening,withtherichgettingricherandthe
respectingtherightofcollectivebargaining,
The enforcement of trade monopoly by the
formultipleunionsaretheirregularworkers.
magnanimity considering our labor
poor getting poorer. It could be said it’s a natural result that those in the low-income
thislawwasamendedtoallowtheexistence
law-the prohibition of multiple trade unions
Although irregular workers which include
condition.
brackets-laborers,joblesspeople,farmersandcommonpeople-struggledagainstthe
ofmultipleunionsafter2002.Owingtothis
contravenes the Constitution, which
part-timeworkersandshort-termemployees
For the irregular workers, therefore, the
government’sunilateralreformdrivepolicies.Therefore,wecannotmerelyviewthese
amendment, however, many workers are
guaranteestheindependentrighttoorganize.
whocontracttoworkforafixedperiodhave
establishmentoftheirownunionmaybethe
strugglesasselfishamidthestagnatingeconomy.
deprivedoftheirrighttoestablishothertrade
About the problem of company unions,
todothesameworkastheregularworkers,
second best policy and the last. Hence the
John Rawls, a prominent political theorist in his “The Theory of Justice” has a
unionsuntil2006.
Koo Mi-young who is a member of the
they face up to the cold, hard facts in their
continued ban on multiple unions is
particularlyinventivewayofsecuringequalityofopportunityinthatheseestheonly
Lawyers for a Democratic Society
Commission for the Abolishment of
wage and employment conditions. For
considered as a step backwards in labor
way to prevent the rich in his just state from overpowering the poor in enforcing the
commentedaboutthis,“Thearticle‘Banon
DiscriminationforDetachedLaborsrefuted,
betterment of their conditions, it is a
conditions. With the existence of these
maxim,“Noredistributionofresourceswithinsuchastatecanoccurunlessitbenefits
Multiple Unions’ is a representative and
“Laborers in the Samsung group cannot
prerequisite to have a trade union through
problems, Korea will have to keep the
theleastwell-off.”
unparalleled vice which doesn’t exist
organize their trade unions because there is
whichtheworkerscanprotecttheirrightsas
dishonour of being a “backward country in
It is through social justice and welfare that the most poor can be guaranteed a
anywhere in the world. Delaying the
alreadyaghostunioninthecompany.Delay
members of the company. In accordance
laborers’rights.”
minimumlevelfortheirbasiclifeinthesociety.Therefore,peoplecannothelpbutto
decision for 5 years means neglecting its
in permission for having multiple unions is
with a survey by the KCTU, however,
struggle against the stern market logic that is controlled by unknown investors and
unconstitutionalityfor5years.”
only going to weaken the autonomy of
almost all existing unions that exclude
chiefs of multinational corporations. And they have to be opposed to globalization
workers.”
irregular workers from unions. Actually the
ByKimMi-ji
II.Revisiontohinderlabormovement
whichcausestheutmostinstabilityoflifedisregardingtheirwillandrightorwrong.So
Categorically this revision reflects the
irregular workers cannot seek the tolerance
ReporterofNationalSection
wehopethatwecanparticipateinmakingadecisionbyourselvesthatcanchangeour
The company claims that flexibility of
existing trade union in an effort to
oftheregularworkers.
ownsurroundingsoflife.
Kim’s reform drive policies which chase after the neo-liberalism are neglecting
democracywhichispremisedonsocialjusticethatthemarketeconomycannotrealize.
WorkersProtestAgainstMassiveLayoffPolicy
Atthispointoftimeoursocietyreallyneedssocialjusticewhichcantoleratethediverse
social classes together more than the ‘constant restructuring’, which President Kim
alwaysemphasizes.
T
he Korea Confederation Trade Unions
imploredtotheUSA.Ifthegovernmentopts
(KTCU) staged a resolute rally in
touseforce,wewillincreaseourresistance.
ChongmyoParktoprotestmassivelayoffsin
Appeasement measures will not work,”
BySeongKuk-hwan
corporate restructuring on March 17th. The
poured Kim Sung-gab, chairman of the
EditorialConsultantofTheArgus
2,000 protesters including the laborers,
executive committee of Daewoo Motor
students and union members demanded
Union.
DaewooMotorreinstatetheworkerslaidoff
After the main rally, the demonstrators
inmid-February.
marched through downtown streets on
PyunghwaMojaWelfareFacitity
They also called on the government and
Chongno,chantingsloganswhichcalledfor
creditor banks to give up the plan to sell
expansion of the social safety net and
Daewoo Motor to General Motors (GM)
settlement of the unemployment problem.
noted for massive layoffs. “Only workers
During the march they conducted a flag-
YoungSingleMothers
have suffered massive job cuts under the
burning against the USA which pulls wires
structuraleconomicreform.Thegovernment
frombehindthegovernment.
willconstantlydischargeotherlaborersifwe
“The laborer of today cannot but protest
ReadyforSelf-Support
passovertheprobleminPupyong.Wewill
against the USA. As seen the hard-fisted
fight with all our might,” said Dan Byung-
labor reform to sell Daewoo Motor to GM,
ho,chairmanoftheKCTU.
the Kim Dae-jung government seems to
P
eoplesaythattheKoreansocietyhas
advising the girls to find new jobs have
“Pupyong was a grave and battlefield
exist for the USA,” clamored Rev. Moon
become open enough to accept
alreadyhelpedover100individualssince
tantamount to the last military government.
Jung-hyun.
JeonKyu-man/TheArgus
differences. Some things such as one’s
such program started years ago. This
A pregnant woman kicked by a riot
After conducting a propaganda campaign
marital status and the matter of having
numberwasasuccesstoPyunghwaMoja,
policeman lost her baby. I gave vent to a
in a parade, about 600 protesters moved to
firebombs.
Pusan, Kwangju, Suwon, Taejon, Chonan,
babies are, however, far from being
considering that only 8 to 15 girls are
feeling of bitterness against the government
Dongkuk University, where they conducted
The KCTU also held similar protests in
WonjuandChejuCity.
disregardedbytheKoreanpeople.Itmay
takenintotheshelteratatime.
that put pressure on the laborers and
a surprise attack showering dozens of
major cities around the country, including
ByKimMi-ji/TheArgus
betheclashbetweenthesuddenopening
“A mother is the most important and
to the western culture and the notion of
the best guardian for a baby to grow
CivicGroupsDeclareAll-outStruggletoScrap
Confucianism of the past. But a woman
safely. That is why we give help to the
with kids but unmarried in Korea,
girls here. We want all babies to be
undergoestoomuchadversity.
brought up by their mothers’ hands,”
There are only 8 shelters in the nation
HongMyung-sook,directorofPyunghwa
SaemangumReclamationProject
that take care of single mothers. These
Moja clarified the purport of running the
women are mostly young, in their early
place notwithstanding the needy
twenties or teenage years. They are
circumstances they are in. This civic
A
economically helpless and abandoned
organizationhardlygetssupportfromthe
coalitionofover200civicgroups,the
Saemangum project until the 15th of next
anti-government position on the 23th and
reclamationproject.
frompeople’sinterests.Regardlessofthe
government and manages only through
Saemangum Regiment held a rally
month shows a sign of improvement. The
340professorsalsoclaimedtheprojectposes
Since the last 19th, the Saemangum
growing number of pregnant girls, these
the different kinds of donations received.
against the Saemangum reclamation project
projecttodeveloptheTongjinRiverareaof
athreattotheenvironmentonthe27th.“In
Regiment has conducted a joint hunger
shelterscanonlytendthegirlsforayear
“Korea scores number one in statistical
inMaronieParkonMarch28th.Preceeding
theSaemangumregionwillresultinharming
view of the results so far achieved it was
struggle to block the government going
oruntiltheygivebirthtothebaby.
data of babies given away to overseas
the main rally, the Saemangum Regiment
the environment and would be a waste
revealed that the Saemangum reclamation
ahead with the Saemangum reclamation
Placed in Songbuk, a civic shelter
countries.Ourhopeisthatwehelpbabies
held a public performance for the
taxpayers’ money,” said Rev. Mun Kyu-
projecthasseveralproblemsthreateningthe
project in the front yard of the Korea
called Pyunghwa Moja Welfare Facility,
tobeabletolivewiththeirtruemothers.”
environment to enlighten the citizens. They
hyun, a representative of the Saemangum
environment. We will carry out an undying
Federation for the Environment Movement
meaning “providing peace to mother and
Tel:02)765-8578,02)928-0182
hunguppaintingssymbolizingthecreatures
Regiment.
struggletostoptheSaemangumprojectwith
(KFEM). Several of the civic society’s
son”,hasbeensetuptosolvesomeofthe
Homepage:http://www.moja.or.kr
of the sea and beaches and sang a song
According to an officer of Green Korea
civic and environmental groups as well as
prominent figures were taking part in the
problems that other existing shelters
changing the words of the song. Nuns and
Unions, Lim Sang-jin, the Catholic-Seoul
religiousgroups,”theSaemangumRegiment
hunger struggle, including religious leaders
carried. Pyunghwa Moja provides free
citizens who participated the rally had in
National University Community expressed
announced.
Rev. Mun Kyu-hyun and Rev. Kim Yong-
housing and nursing for the mother and
theirhandspicturesofmigratorybirds,blue
concerns against the Saemangum
Aftertherally,thedemonstratorsmarched
lak as well as civic representatives such as
ByLeeMin-a
thebabyuntilthetheyarereadytoliveby
crabs, fish and shellfish to show the
reclamation saying that it was done with
fromMaronieParktoTapgolParkshouting
ChoiYul,headoftheKFEM.
AssociateEditorofNationalSection
themselves. Counseling and classes
importanceofmarinelife.
morehastethancautiononMarch19th.The
slogans which called for acknowledgement
“Putting off the final decision over the
KoreanBuddhistChogyeOrderdeclaredan
of mistakes and nullified the Saemangum
ByKimMi-ji/TheArgus

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