'I want to have hot bath'
Oh Soo-young, right, and Yeo Min-hee talk on the roof of the bell tower at Hyehwa Catholic Church in Seoul, Tuesday. Oh and Yeo have staged a rooftop protest for four months since February, asking JEI to reinstate 12 workers, themselves included, who were fired in December 2010 because they were members of a trade union. / Korea Times photos by Shim Hyun-chul
JEI workers’ protest on bell tower marks 128th day
By Kim Jae-won
The photo is of the bell tower of the church. / Korea Times photos by Shim Hyun-chul
Oh Soo-young, 39, the mother of a nine-year-old boy, has not seen her son for the last 128 days because she has been on the bell tower of Hyehwa Catholic Church in Seoul since February, taking part in a rooftop protest.
Along with her colleague Yeo Min-hui, 40, Oh began the public dissent on Feb. 6, demanding that JEI, a tutoring service company, reinstate 12 workers fired in December 2010 because they were members of a trade union. The company claims that the union is illegal, despite a ruling by the Seoul Administrative Court in November 2012 that acknowledged the legality of the union and the right of the company’s employees to be members of it.
Tuesday marked the 2,000th day since the fired workers began their sit-in at the church which is across from the main office of JEI in December 2007.
Of the 12 fired workers, one died of cancer in January 2012, and 11, including the two on the rooftop, have been engaged in public protests.
The two set up a tent on the 6-square-meter space at the top of the 20-meter-high bell tower.
“What we ask of Chairman Park Sung-hoon is to acknowledge the union and fix problems of the company in cooperation with workers,” said Oh.
The union leader said that she will not give up the fight.
Yeo, 40, said she climbed to the rooftop, hoping Chairman Park would see and think of them.
“I hope the chairman thinks of us. It does not matter whether he is scared or regrets what he did. I just want him to remember us.”
Oh and Yeo bow one hundred times on their knees every morning, in hope of winning the fight.
But it is not just unionists who are suffering from the long struggle. Oh said she could not forget the moment when her son told her to come down.
“I was so sorry to my son that I could not be with him. I just told him that I can’t stop this fight.”
Asked what they want to do when they come down, Oh said that she wants go straight to a sauna.
“We could not take a shower and bathe here. I wish that I could dip my body into hot water and enjoy a bath,” chuckled Oh.
Yeo said she would visit the tomb of her colleague Lee Ji-eun who died of cancer in January 2012.
“I will say to her that we finally won, and let her know she is reinstated in the workplace,” said Yeo, shedding tears.
During the daytime, they send their stories through social networking services. In the evening they make speeches through megaphones to supporters who host cultural events, such as singing, poetry reading, among others.
JEI said that the company suggested the protesters stop the rally first, and then they will have talks with the unionists.
“They are not workers in the company at the moment because their contracts expired a long time ago. So we suggest they stop the sit-in first, and have negotiations later,” said Jeon Cheol-ho, an HR manager.
Lee Young-ju, the senior vice chairman of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, vowed to help the workers and offered to fight with them, saying that it is shame that society neglected them for 2,000 days.
“Two thousand days is nearly six years, a duration of time that a new-born baby grows up into a child who can eat and dress by themselves. I’m so sorry that nothing has changed even though the workers have protested for such a long time,” said Lee.