27th July 2009 Protest Action Against Korean Government Violent Suppression on Ssangyong Motors Workers’ Strike

The KCTU(Korean Confederation of Trade Unions) announces that all affiliate unions will go on general strike as of 22nd July. This general strike is to condemn police operation aimed at clamping down the striking workers at Ssangyong Motors Pyeongtaek Plant and to attain overall job security by reasonably normalizing Ssangyong Motors. The general strike also targets the government and ruling party’s attempts to make downgrade revisions to various laws – known collectively to public as ‘MB (Lee Myung Bak) Evil Bills’ - regarding irregular (precarious) workers, those that aim to allow domination of media by large conglomerates, and the revision to the Minimum Wage Act. The KCTU orders affiliate unions to organize a strong and determined general strike so that workers can stand forth in unity to counteract neoliberal policies and the Lee Myung Bak government.

On 20th July 2009, riot police entered the Ssangyong Motors Pyeongtaek Plant under the pretext of implementing forced execution (eviction) orders, and surrounded the paint shop building, which 800 workers are sitting-in, vigilantly waiting to violently clamp down on the workers. The management has ordered all non-striking employees back to work, and has also cut off electricity, water and gas to the paint factory.

To show our solidarity with Korean workers, HKCTU(Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions) will organize a protest action against Korean government brutal suppression on Ssangyong Motors workers strike.

Date: 27th July 2009(Mon)
Time: 2:15pm.
Meeting Place: Heng Seng Bank inside MTR Admiralty Station , then going to the Consulate General of Korea.
 
Contact person: Elizabeth Tang, Chief Secretary of HKCTU. Contact no.90919088. 
 
We updated photos to show brutal violence of police against the striking workers of Ssangyong Motor at the KCTU web-site (http://kctu.org). Please visit it.