Hankook Tire Hit for Suppressing Union
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Workers of an affiliate company of Hankook Tire have been holding a protest against the nation's largest tire maker in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul since Sunday, alleging that it is suppressing the labor union.
This is the third time the company has been under fire for labor issues this year, following the unexplained deaths of 15 workers at its plant over a short period in Daejeon and for not allowing the establishment of a labor union at its plant in Hungary.
Members of the Korean Metal Workers' Union at ASA, an aluminum wheel tire maker and affiliate of Hankook Tire, asked the company to enter negotiations four times after approval by the union, but were rejected each time. The members have been on strike since November and are expected to hold protests in front of the tire company's headquarters building till next week. ASA has already taken a step toward shutting down the workplace in Geumsan, South Chungcheong Province.
According to Kim Nam, a member of the labor union, the union has requested the company to approve the union and make improvements in the working environment. He said that the company's plant is operated by a day-and-night shift system, which means employees have to work for 12 hours straight for seven days a week to take another 12 hours off.
He also claimed that they work for more than 110 hours a month overtime and the air conditioning system is poor, and there is dust, gas and heat in the air due to the manufacturing process. The members all claimed that it is very difficult to call in sick or apply for industrial disaster compensation despite the deadly environment and asked the company to improve on conditions.
However, the ASA management blamed it on Hankook Tire, saying it is the tire company who actually makes all the decisions, which brought the workers all the way to Seoul for the strike, they said.
The tire maker, on the other hand, said it has nothing to do with the wheel maker, in which it holds 70 percent of the total share. ``ASA is an independent company from Hankook Tire and it is not appropriate for us to meddle in the case.'' spokeswoman Chung Jae-won said.
Still, the issue is bringing worldwide attention since Hankook Tire has been revealed to have a poor working environment at its own plant, too. The Ministry of Labor said earlier this month that the company had violated the Industrial Safety and Health Law 1,394 times and have tried to cover up 183 industrial disaster reports.
The special investigation into the tire maker's plant in Daejeon was made after 15 workers were reported to died over a short period of time through possible work-related deaths. Seven among them died of heart-related disease in less than two years.
Survivors of the deceased claimed that solvent used during the manufacturing process had played a role in their deaths. The government is studying the exact relations between the working environment and the deaths.