Newsletter from Solidarity for Worker’s Health (2015. June)

#1. Repression of labor union, leading to social homicide

POSCO center, Gangnam. The activist from Solidarity for Worker’s Health is picketing for apology from POSCO and EZtech

Recently, social homicide of worker goes into headlines  one after another in multiple medias in  South Korea. On May 10th, a worker of ‘EZ-tech’ owned by Mr. Park Ji-man, who is brother of  president, committed suicide. Mr. Park received the corporation which is subcontractor of POSCO, a steel company, thanks to his father, the former president Park Jung-hee. Workers in the EZ-tech organized the labor union and joined the Korean Confederation of Trade Union, but it was virtually impossible to maintain the union owing to the company’s labor repression.
The one who committed suicide was initially fired  because he had organized the union. After returning to the workplace on the strength  of court‘s decision, he suffered mental distress as no one in the company spoke nor made eye-contact with him. On his suicide note, he wrote ‘there is no one to talk, and it suffocates me‘, ‘my headache is killing me‘. And also, he claimed Mr. Park to stop repressing the workers, as they are working so hard without a  word of complaint in spite of their dangerous working environment , which includes dealing with toxic materials beside the burning roster.

The bereaved and the labor union had been protesting for the apology from the company, sleeping on the road in front of POSCO center and EZ-tech building of Gangnam, Seoul. Therethrough, the union accrued apology and promise to guarantee the labor union’s activity from company, thus the funeral was held on June 15th.

Worker’s who kill themselves due to repression of labor union by the company is not very rare in Korea. Just on this May, 3 activists committed suicide.

#2. Summer labor camp, old labor meeting the new

SWH_1506_02

“Seoul labor rights center” is preparing ‘SUMMER LABOR’ camp,  suitable for reality of South Korea where most student and young people scrape a living by working in part-time jobs and temporary positions.

“Seoul Labor Rights Center”, where Seoul City opened this year in response to the reality of South Korea where most students and young people scrape a living by working in part-time jobs or temporary positions, is preparing a camp named ‘Summer Labor’

The summer camp, organized by Seoul city and labor NGOs, includes educational sessions about ‘perspectives on labor, viewpoint on current occupation and economy’. It will also encompass several projects such as research on night-work of part-time workers, daily experience as City Hall cleaning, and research of emotional labor of service workers. Solidarity for Worker’s Health will proceed the project making card news for ‘10 health commandment for part-time workers’. By making card news, we plan to focus on social determinants of health with the participants.

Recently, the news on death or traumatic accident of delivery workers is being on the rise as  employment increasing in the delivery job market. Although there are many teenager workers on the job, many of them do not sign an employment contract, without any acknowledgement on the Labor Standards Law and the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act. The efforts of the government to acknowledge people to understand their rights as a worker and to protect their own safety are in urgent need. Solidarity for Worker’s Heath will also continue our struggle to solve the problems related with health right of part-time workers. Traditional labor movement should take fresh plan to meet the need of young  non-regular workers. This mission is also valid for the Solidarity for Worker’s Heath.