Hill holds key to SC First strike
By Kim Jae-won
SOKCHO, Gangwon Province ― The union and management of SC First Korea Bank has been engaged in a tug-of-war over its CEO Richard Hill in a strike that has been unfolding not within any of its branch offices or headquarters but in this resort town on the eastern coast of the country.
About 3,000 unionized SC workers have been on strike here since last week over management’s plan to introduce a performance-based wage system.
The union is demanding that Hill come to Sokcho and talk to them, while management is insisting that Hill would go only if there is any meaningful progress in their negotiations.
Still, the union threatens to continue their collective action unless management backs off. Regulators are calling for a compromise but their call has been falling on a deaf ear.
“A CEO is like a father. If the children go wayward, he is supposed to look out for us,” said Kim Jae-yul, chairman of the SC First labor union in an interview with The Korea Times Tuesday. Kim was obviously referring to the union as a wayward child in a comparison that could be
Jul 5, 2011
