Ex-C&M contract workers begin sit-in on high billboard

By Lee Kyung-min

A former worker of C&M, a major cable and Internet service company, protests atop a 30-meter-high electric billboard in Gwanghwamun, downtown Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Newsis

Two former contract workers of C&M, a major cable and Internet service company, are holding a sit-in on a 30-meter-high electric billboard in downtown Seoul, demanding the reinstatement of 109 contract workers fired in July by the company and its affiliates.

The two ― Kang Sung-deok and Lim Jung-gyeun ― climbed up the billboard near the head office of MBK Partners, C&M’s major shareholder, Wednesday night, and are still refusing to come down. In support, the fired workers are holding rallies on the street below.

The workers have been protesting against the layoffs since July, claiming they were abandoned due to the corporate greed of MBK Partners and C&M.

The workers claim that they have requested executives of C&M and MBK Partners to meet with them, but they are being ignored.

“Kang and Lim opted to hold a sit-in on the billboard because they thought it was the only way to have their voices heard,” a participant in the rallies said.

In response, a C&M official who declined to be named said the workers formed a union over the last two years and members were asking for exorbitant raises and regular job status.

“Some of the non-regular employees won regular job status, and when they got what they wanted, they asked for a raise,” he said.

Denying the workers’ claim that C&M is to blame for the situation, he said, “Corporate management is all about efficiency. We hire contractors whom we think are best at using the limited amount of money most efficiently. And after that, it’s the contractors decision.”