ID :
71384
Wed, 07/22/2009 - 08:32
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/71384
The shortlink copeid
Police, strikers locked in standoff at Ssangyong plant
PYEONGTAEK, South Korea, July 21 (Yonhap) -- Thousands of riot police were locked in a standoff with fired workers at the Ssanyong Motor Co. assembly plant Tuesday for a second day, as concerns mounted of an imminent clash.
Armed with a court-issued eviction order, about 3,000 riot police on Monday
entered the plant in this rural town, about 70km south of Seoul, where nearly
1,000 laid-off workers have occupied a paint shop for two months to protest
massive job cuts.
Earlier in the day, some masked strikers fought back by hurling Molotov cocktails
and flinging nuts and bolts from large slingshots as police tried to approach the
painting facility, where many inflammable materials are stored.
There were no immediate reports of clashes or injuries.
Ssangyong officials said the company has stopped supplying water and gas to the
four-story paint shop, the largest building in the Ssangyong plant.
Meanwhile, about 1,500 non-union workers resumed work at the plant's research
facilities.
"Some computers were broken or lost, but that did not pose a problem for people
getting back to work," said Chung Mu-young, a Ssangyong spokesman. "I haven't
been able to assess the damage to plant facilities because the union members
fired pieces of metal (at me) from slingshots."
The 61-day occupation has cost Ssangyong 245.6 billion won (US$196.5 million), or
11,520 vehicles, in lost production, according to Chung.
In February, Ssangyong, the smallest carmaker in South Korea, received bankruptcy
protection in exchange for implementing a turnaround plan that calls for 36
percent of its workforce, or 2,646 employees, to be cut.
Since then, some 1,670 workers have left the company through voluntary retirement
plans while the remaining 976 workers have gone on strike since May 21.
In the first six months of this year, Ssangyong's auto sales plunged 73.9 percent
from the same period last year to 13,020 units.
Ssangyong is still 51 percent owned by China's Shanghai Automotive Industry
Corp., but the Chinese parent lost its management control after Ssangyong entered
bankruptcy protection.
Armed with a court-issued eviction order, about 3,000 riot police on Monday
entered the plant in this rural town, about 70km south of Seoul, where nearly
1,000 laid-off workers have occupied a paint shop for two months to protest
massive job cuts.
Earlier in the day, some masked strikers fought back by hurling Molotov cocktails
and flinging nuts and bolts from large slingshots as police tried to approach the
painting facility, where many inflammable materials are stored.
There were no immediate reports of clashes or injuries.
Ssangyong officials said the company has stopped supplying water and gas to the
four-story paint shop, the largest building in the Ssangyong plant.
Meanwhile, about 1,500 non-union workers resumed work at the plant's research
facilities.
"Some computers were broken or lost, but that did not pose a problem for people
getting back to work," said Chung Mu-young, a Ssangyong spokesman. "I haven't
been able to assess the damage to plant facilities because the union members
fired pieces of metal (at me) from slingshots."
The 61-day occupation has cost Ssangyong 245.6 billion won (US$196.5 million), or
11,520 vehicles, in lost production, according to Chung.
In February, Ssangyong, the smallest carmaker in South Korea, received bankruptcy
protection in exchange for implementing a turnaround plan that calls for 36
percent of its workforce, or 2,646 employees, to be cut.
Since then, some 1,670 workers have left the company through voluntary retirement
plans while the remaining 976 workers have gone on strike since May 21.
In the first six months of this year, Ssangyong's auto sales plunged 73.9 percent
from the same period last year to 13,020 units.
Ssangyong is still 51 percent owned by China's Shanghai Automotive Industry
Corp., but the Chinese parent lost its management control after Ssangyong entered
bankruptcy protection.
