3M Korea CEO
Frank Little |
It has all the typical elements of a dispute between a multinational firm and its unionized Korean workers. The workers claim that the foreign firm is ignoring workers' rights, while the company argues that the workers are self-centered. The result is an open-ended dispute. That is what is happening to 3M Korea. ― ED.
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
3M Korea has been entrapped in a long-running labor-management dispute that started after the establishment of a union last year. Unionized workers from its two factories in South Jeolla and Gyeonggi provinces have been staging rallies in front of 3M Korea's headquarters in Seoul every day.
The management has taken disciplinary actions against nearly 100 unionized workers and also filed a criminal and damages suit against them for what it calls "illegal" protests aimed at taking the upper hand in negotiations with the company, which are now deadlocked.
Unionized workers say they have staged the rallies after earning the approval of authorities, thus making them legitimate. They have pledged that their collective action will continue until the company stops what the workers call a crackdown on unionized workers and has the president, Frank Little, sit at the negotiation table instead of management-appointed chief negotiator, Park Won-yong, who they call "hawkish and heavy-handed."
With the company showing no sign of accepting the counterpart's request, it's unlikely that the dispute will end in the foreseeable future.
Since 1977, when the Minnesota-based multinational company opened its Korea office, it saw no disputes between management and labor until May last year. But the 32-year-old harmonious relationship between the two parties turned sour following the establishment of a labor union with nearly 600 members.
A member of 3M Korea’s labor union stages a protest in front of the multinational company’s Seoul office.
/ Courtesy of 3M Korea labor union |
Union head Park Keun-seo said, "Following the unilateral establishment of the union on May 14 last year, we pressured the management with a variety of state-approved rallies to make it accept our wage bargaining proposal and recognize the existence of the labor union. The two parties reached a consensus on Aug. 31."
However, on Sept. 1, just one day after the agreement, the management abruptly cut the monthly salaries of three full-time union workers by one-third and also banned their entry into factory buildings by invalidating their ID cards, Park said.
"In three months, the management suspended a total of 95 members of the union for up to five months for their participation in rallies held ahead of the management's official recognition of the union," he said. "It filed a criminal suit against 17 members for disturbing operation. It also filed a damages suit against me, demanding 11 million won ($9,700) in compensation."
3M Korea spokeswoman Choe He-jong referred to a series of controversial disciplinary actions as a "gesture," signaling that the only protests that will be allowed are those that do not impact business activities.
Choe claimed the company sustained significant damage from unionized workers' reckless protests. She refused to comment on the extent of the damage.
"Discipline makes for a better labor union," Choe said. "If unionized workers remain uncontrolled, they will eventually deal a blow to the company and the union as well." She added that reducing the salaries of the full-time union workers was tantamount to removing their overtime payment.
"They no longer work at an assembly line. So their complaint over the unpaid overtime payment is not right," she said. "The invalidation of their ID cards was in line with this."
The 3M representative urged the union to settle the crisis through peaceful talks with its chief negotiator, Park Won-yong, and stop its rallies in Seoul.
The union head called the negotiator one of the major culprits in prolonging the incident.
"We also want to settle the problem through peaceful discussions. But the negotiator has only tried to tame the union with disciplinary action," he said. "Affected by the hawkish labor expert, many executives, who were talk-oriented until he took the position, now frequently threaten outspoken workers with disciplinary actions."
The union head urged the company to fire the negotiator and have its president, Frank Little, take over his role. 3M Korea said it has no plan to meet the requests at the moment.
pss@koreatimes.co.kr
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무디스, 스페인·伊·포르투갈 신용등급 강등
