ID :
200327
Wed, 08/10/2011 - 10:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/200327
The shortlink copeid
Hanjin Heavy chairman vows to settle labor strike over massive layoffs
BUSAN, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- The embattled chairman of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction vowed Wednesday to make efforts to settle an eight-month-long labor dispute triggered by the shipbuilder's massive layoffs.
After arriving home earlier Wednesday from what critics have called a monthlong escape abroad, Cho Nam-ho vowed, "I will fulfill all my duties in order to revive the company."
Cho fled the country in June as lawmakers moved to bring him in for a parliamentary hearing.
"Workforce restructuring was an inevitable decision needed to secure the firm's survival from the global financial crisis," Cho said in a speech to the public. He also apologized for the worries spawned during the workforce restructuring process.
Unionized workers of the company's mid-sized shipyard in the southern port city of Busan waged a strike from December to June after the company released a plan to cut 400 jobs as part of restructuring efforts.
In late June, the firm signed a deal with workers to end the strike after promising more favorable retirement benefits to those who opt to resign voluntarily.
But the dispute did not die down, as some militant union workers refused to accept the agreed-upon terms while the company used physical force to drive protesting workers from its shipyard in Yeongdo, Busan.
The ongoing labor dispute gathered particular attention from the public and media with a solo protest by one woman, Kim Jin-sook, a former Hanjin Heavy worker and member of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions. Since January, Kim has protested from atop a 35-meter tower crane at the Yeongdo shipyard.
The shipbuilder drew heavy criticism from human rights groups when it cut electricity to the shipyard, prompting some opposition lawmakers and civic activists to pay repeated visits to Kim in a show of support.
Opposition lawmakers' support for Kim's protest, which police and the conservative political party call an "illegal strike," has created political debates, sparking them to hold a National Assembly hearing on the matter.
Lawmakers are preparing to call in Cho for a parliamentary hearing on Aug. 17 to quiz him on the labor dispute, which has escalated into a social issue.
In his address, Cho vowed to make more efforts to support workers leaving the company, suggesting a package of additional benefits for those who are laid off. But he indicated that the labor cut will stand.
Cho's pledges and remarks, the first of their kind since the workers began striking in December, provided fresh hope for a resolution in the firm's deadlocked negotiations with its labor force.
After arriving home earlier Wednesday from what critics have called a monthlong escape abroad, Cho Nam-ho vowed, "I will fulfill all my duties in order to revive the company."
Cho fled the country in June as lawmakers moved to bring him in for a parliamentary hearing.
"Workforce restructuring was an inevitable decision needed to secure the firm's survival from the global financial crisis," Cho said in a speech to the public. He also apologized for the worries spawned during the workforce restructuring process.
Unionized workers of the company's mid-sized shipyard in the southern port city of Busan waged a strike from December to June after the company released a plan to cut 400 jobs as part of restructuring efforts.
In late June, the firm signed a deal with workers to end the strike after promising more favorable retirement benefits to those who opt to resign voluntarily.
But the dispute did not die down, as some militant union workers refused to accept the agreed-upon terms while the company used physical force to drive protesting workers from its shipyard in Yeongdo, Busan.
The ongoing labor dispute gathered particular attention from the public and media with a solo protest by one woman, Kim Jin-sook, a former Hanjin Heavy worker and member of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions. Since January, Kim has protested from atop a 35-meter tower crane at the Yeongdo shipyard.
The shipbuilder drew heavy criticism from human rights groups when it cut electricity to the shipyard, prompting some opposition lawmakers and civic activists to pay repeated visits to Kim in a show of support.
Opposition lawmakers' support for Kim's protest, which police and the conservative political party call an "illegal strike," has created political debates, sparking them to hold a National Assembly hearing on the matter.
Lawmakers are preparing to call in Cho for a parliamentary hearing on Aug. 17 to quiz him on the labor dispute, which has escalated into a social issue.
In his address, Cho vowed to make more efforts to support workers leaving the company, suggesting a package of additional benefits for those who are laid off. But he indicated that the labor cut will stand.
Cho's pledges and remarks, the first of their kind since the workers began striking in December, provided fresh hope for a resolution in the firm's deadlocked negotiations with its labor force.
