By Eva Cheng
In an affirmation of grassroots democracy, a majority of member unions of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) on February 9-10 voted down an agreement which their leadership had tentatively entered into with the bosses and the government only a few days earlier. The agreement gave employers unrestrained freedom to sack workers and to use scabs against unionised labour.
Armed with a 67% majority (184 out of 272), delegates of the extraordinary convention of the KCTU immediately formed an Emergency Executive Committee (EEC) to replace the existing leadership and resolved to demand a renegotiation, under the recently formed "consultative" structure of a tripartite commission between the government, bosses and peak trade union bodies. They threatened to launch a general strike on February 13 if their demand was not met.
The strike was called off at midnight on February 12, following eight hours of debate and amidst intense pressure generated by fierce attacks from the establishment, but the new leaders affirmed they were not retreating from their demand and would call for mass actions should the government put the new attacks into legislation, scheduled very shortly.
"We have decided to cancel the strike in acceptance of public concern against the possible worsening of the present economic crisis", said Dan Byong-ho, chair of the newly elected EEC.
Attacks started raining down on the KCTU after its previous leadership failed to obtain members' endorsement of the tripartite deal, accusing it of backing off from a commitment that it was never authorised to make; the confederation's position could be official only after the membership's endorsement.
Refusing to recognise this simple step of union democracy, the establishment accused the KCTU of "unilaterally" overturning the pact.
Top government officials threatened to arrest union officials and "severely deal with" any "violent" activities. A February 11 sit-in in the Myongdong Cathedral by union leaders to raise morale for the planned strike was physically stopped by hundreds of riot police. However, a number of regional and workplace rallies took place as scheduled.
To step up the pressure, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Finance and Economy relayed the International Monetary Fund's "concern" that a labour strike might bring about a new foreign exchange crisis. The IMF is to decide on February 17 whether to approve payment of a further US$2 billion as part of the US$57 billion loan facility offered to Seoul in December.
The spokesperson also threatened that the rescheduling in March with banks from 13 countries of US$8 billion worth of loans could be jeopardised.
To avert a February 12 strike planned by the International Monetary Fund, the Seoul metropolitan government on February 11 dropped a year-long lawsuit against the union in which it claimed 5 billion won for "damages" from an earlier strike.
Exposing the bosses and government's agenda, the KCTU EEC pointed out in a February 10 statement that the so-called tripartite agreement aimed to pass the burden of the current economic difficulties only to workers.
The KCTU had earlier demanded that the chiefs of chaebols, South Korea's big conglomerates, surrender part of their huge personal wealth to help the country through the current difficulties. The tripartite commission rejected this and another demand to legislate a right of workers to participate in management of their companies.
To sweeten the earlier "deal", the government offered to stop banning teachers and public sector workers from unionising (from next year) and unions from engaging in political activities. It also agreed to establish an unemployment fund of 5 trillion won (US$3 billion.
KCTU delegates said those rights have no place as a bargaining chip but should be part of a democracy.