A long struggle atop a crane

Kim Jin-suk pledges not to end her fight against layoffs at Hanjin Heavy

By Kim Tae-jong

Female labor activist Kim Jin-suk Wednesday continued a sit-in protest from a 50-meter-high crane at the shipyard of the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) in Busan, even after the labor union signed an agreement with management to end a six-month-long strike Monday.

She argued the agreement failed to push through the most important demand of the union that led unionists to walk out in the first place ― abolition of a layoff plan.

“The war has not ended. We’re in an ongoing battle,” Kim said in a phone interview with The Korea Times. “All unionists didn’t accept the agreement. It was a dogmatic decision made by the head of the union who ignored our demand.”

The 190-day-long strike began on Dec. 20 when the company announced a massive layoff plan involving hundreds of employees. Kim has staged a protest from the 50-meter-high driver’s seat of a crane at the company’s Yeongdo shipyard in Busan since Jan. 6.

“I can’t let this happen. Two of my colleagues died while fighting against the layoff plan. I can’t back off. I’ll fight until our demand is accepted,” the former employee of HHIC said in a determined voice.

But the situation is getting worse as the Busan District Court ordered court officials and hundreds of demolition workers to go to the factory to forcibly disperse the unionized workers after the agreement was announced.

They forcibly drove unionists occupying various facilities out of the factory and also cut loose some of the protestors who had tied themselves to the crane. However, they failed to move out about 30 workers stationed at the halfway point of the crane.

“It was the saddest and most difficult moment. I had to see my colleagues in despair dragged out of the factory with my very own eyes,” she said.

To make things worse, the court also shut off electricity to the crane and hundreds of demolition workers surrounded the crane to prevent unionists from supplying food and other necessities to the people on the crane.

The court initially promised to allow unionists to provide protestors on the crane with necessary supplies such as food and electricity when they evacuated the crane, leaving only 12 minimum protestors, but the promise has not been kept yet, Kim said.

“Not to mention the troubles in getting food and hot water, I can’t even dispose of urine and feces at the moment. I can’t recharge my cell phone. They are pushing me to the edge of a cliff. What on earth do they want to do?” she said.

She felt sorry she couldn’t talk long as she was almost running out of battery on her cell phone.

To tackle the worsened situation, she has asked for emergency help from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Asked why she is risking her life under the poorest of conditions, she said she simply can’t give up because of her colleagues.

“The only reason to risk my life on this crane is to fight unjustifiable layoffs of my colleagues. How could a company which is making a profit fire its employees all of sudden? Why do employees, not the company, take responsibility for poor management?” she said.

Later that day, the company and the NHRC agreed to provide the protestors on the crane with necessities such as food, electricity, underwear, blankets and emergency medicine.