Police raid Ssangyong Motor plant to disband strikers

PYEONGTAEK, South Korea, June 26 (Yonhap) -- Hundreds of riot police on Friday
entered the premises of ailing Ssangyong Motor Co's only plant, south of Seoul,
to disperse striking unionized workers waging a weeks-long sit-in in protest over
the company's massive layoff plan, police and company officials said.
Some 500 police troops with helmets and plastic shields began streaming into the
plant shortly after 5 p.m. to disband the striking Ssangyong workers estimated to
number about 900, the officials said.
Hours earlier, about 300 security guards hired by company management were sent
into the plant complex to confront with the striking employees, with witnesses
reporting a number of injuries as the two groups faced off.
Unionized workers at Ssangyong who were laid off after the troubled automaker was
put under court receivership earlier this year have waged a sit-in at the
company's factory in Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometers south of Seoul.
They have been locked in a dispute with other workers whose jobs have been saved
as a result of the company-wide restructuring plan.
Earlier in the day, the company's management proposed to rehire some of the
laid-off workers once the company turns itself around, but the proposal was
immediately rejected by the union.
brk@yna.co.kr
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