BY SUE BOLTON
The leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) resigned en masse on April 3, in response to heavy criticism of their decision to call off general strike in solidarity with striking power workers on the day it was due to begin — April 2. A date for the election of new leaders has yet to be decided.
The April 2 general strike had originally been called to express solidarity with more than 5000 power workers who had been on strike for almost six weeks in protest against plans by South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung's government to privatise public utilities.
There was massive confusion when the KCTU leadership called off the general strike because tens of thousands of workers had already begun the strike, or were preparing to join it.
The power workers' strike was also called off by their union leadership, the Korea Power Plant Industry Union. Around 70% of power workers have defied the return-to-work call, and the workers who have returned to work face disciplinary action from management.
The impetus for the power workers' strike began when the government took steps to prepare the industry for privatisation of the Korea Electric Power Corporation. KEPCO was a state-owned monopoly responsible for power generation and distribution. In April 2001 it was broken into six subsidiary companies, with five of the six companies being slated for sale to private operators later this year.
The corporatisation of KEPCO was preceded by a radical restructuring which cut the work force by 7000. This massive reduction in the number of workers meant that working conditions for the remaining workers became very severe.
One of the key impacts on the working conditions was a change in the shift system for those workers involved in the maintenance of the 24-hour power generation operation. Before the retrenchments, workers were engaged in three shifts around the clock, through a rotation of five teams. Following the retrenchments, workers had to work the three shifts in four teams. Workers fear that this might even worsen to three shifts by three teams. More retrenchments are expected before the final sell-off.
When the five companies were formed, the Korea Power Plant Industry Union was also formed to bring together the workers in all of the subsidiaries. Initially, the KEPCO management agreed that the previous collective bargaining agreement would be recognised by its subsidiaries. However, when the new union joined the KCTU-affiliated Korean Federation of Transportation, Public and Social Services Workers Union (KPSU), the management reneged on its earlier commitment to recognise the existing collective bargaining agreement and the union.
The power workers' strike began as a joint strike between railway workers, power workers and gas workers on February 25. The common demand for all three groups of workers was for the government to withdraw its privatisation plans. On the first day of the strike the Korea Gas Workers Union reached an agreement with management and withdrew from the strike. The railway workers held out for longer, but it was the power workers who kept up the fight for almost six weeks.
On the second day of the strike, February 26, the KCTU called a solidarity general strike with the railway and power workers, in which more than 130,000 workers participated.
The general strike was an important attempt to prevent the government from sending riot police against the rail and power strikers. At the time, thousands of riot police were deployed near Seoul National University, where many of the strikers were camped. Police helicopters were flying over the workers every 10 minutes or so. The prosecutor's office issued warrants of arrest against 37 union leaders.
In order to avoid being dragged back to work by riot police, the power workers adopted new tactics for this dispute. On the evening of February 26, 5300 power workers grouped themselves into teams of five to 10 and dispersed throughout Seoul. When the squads of riot police burst onto the campus, they were surprised to find no striking workers there.
Then, 10,352 police began to hunt down the striking workers with a sweep through more than 10,000 motels. Initially the cops had little success.
The dispersed striking workers were able to keep in regular contact with union leaders through union-run "situation rooms" which were set up in the Myongdong Cathedral and the KCTU office. The striking workers contacted the situation rooms and the union web site each day to be updated on new developments. Around 800 of the workers joined in education programs and discussions at the Korea Institute of Labour Research and Policy.
These tactics of dispersal enabled the power workers to continue the strike without the constant threat of riot police raids hanging over their heads.
Contrary to government claims, the workers received a lot of public support, with the owners of motels and inns offering striking workers special discounts and warning workers about police activities in the neighbourhood.
On March 5, the CEOs of five of the power companies provocatively announced that they had terminated negotiations with the union. On March 14, the government announced that the power plants would be run by military personnel.
It seems that the KCTU leadership caved in to government demands and called off the April 2 general strike because of the possibility of mass lay-offs if the electricity supply began to break down.
Many of the power workers are angry about their strike being called off because they haven't won any significant concessions from the government.
The power workers' strike has sparked a renewed public debate about the government's privatisation agenda and the importance of workers fighting it. The dispute about privatisation also highlights the role of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Since the Asian economic crisis in 1997, the South Korean government has been forced to agree to demands from the World Bank and IMF to privatise government infrastructure in order to receive loans.
While the power workers might have been forced back to work for now, it is unlikely that the government can force workers to accept privatisation when it results in such big job cuts and cuts in working conditions. The power workers' strike was the first big anti-privatisation strike and it's not likely to be the last.
From Green Left Weekly, April 24, 2002.
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