By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
The labor union of Ssangyong Motors rejected an arbitration proposal by management Monday and vowed to continue their sit-in strike, raising concerns of a head-on collision.
It had earlier been proposed that a planned massive layoff would be put on hold ㅡ if the strike were halted. The company and court-appointed managers had said they would ask police to remove the strikers if the two sides failed to produce an agreement before Monday.
As laborers refused to accept the compromise deal, a total of 976 were effectively ``fired'' after the layoff notification went into effect.
``The union rejected our proposal to put the layoff on hold. The legal effectiveness of the layoffs of 976 workers is now unavoidable,'' the company said in a statement.
Thousands of unionized workers at the loss-making Ssangyong, the smallest carmaker in the nation, have occupied a plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, since May 21 to fight the layoff plan.
``We will disperse only when management scraps the layoffs, not just delays them. To solve this problem, the government should pump public funds into our company,'' the union said in a statement.
The carmaker has been under court receivership since February, and it plans to cut 36 percent of its employees as part of the restructuring scheme.
Seoul Central District Court last month said saving Ssangyong is more valuable than liquidating it, but warned it could still force the carmaker to close down if it fails to make the promised job cuts.
In the first three months of this year, the company recorded its sixth straight quarterly net loss. It posted a loss of 265 billion won in the first quarter, compared with a deficit of 34 billion won for the same period last year.