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Korean unions step up their 'Zero-sales struggle' as E.Land continues to defy basic workers' rights

The Korean E.land workers continue to fight for their jobs. In Mokdong, a Homever workers' sit-in was confronted by thugs hired as strike breakers by the company. Two of the striking workers were taken to hospital.

The serious labour conflict at Korean retail chain E.Land is now going into its second month. While three top union leaders remain in a Seoul police jail, the one thousand dismissed shop workers and their trade union continue to campaign for their reinstatement. In June, the company resorted to mass dismissals of non-regular workers rather than giving them permanent employment contracts, required by a new law.

The shop workers' fight for their jobs has exposed the close links between the Korean government and large employers. Company level trade union leaders have been jailed, sit-in strikes have been ended through massive riot police deployments and threats of draconian fines have been hung over both individual workers and their union.

International calls for the release of the detained trade unionists - including an intervention by ILO Director General Juan Somavia to the Korean Labour Minister - have been ignored. Once again, the country has openly defied its obligations to secure the respect for fundamental workers' rights as required by International Labour Conventions.

But the predominantly young women workers at E.Land have not given up. They are receiving strong and growing support from both trade unions and civic organisations in Korea and abroad.

Last Sunday, more than 1,500 E.Land workers participated in nation-wide picketing at ten of the company's stores. At the Homever store in Mokdong, this lead to a confrontation with thugs - or so-called strike breakers - that have been employed by the company. Two of the striking E.Land workers were injured and taken to hospital.

The Korean trade union confederation KCTU is stepping up its solidarity action. If a negotiated solution is not reached before that, the next two Sundays will see major events in form of a 'Zero-Sales Struggle' and a 'Workers' Struggle Day'. An unprecedented Special KCTU Congress is scheduled for 21 August, to deal with the E.Land labour dispute.

In the meantime, management and the trade union have been meeting regularly, but the talks have not lead to results. It seems that the company is not interested in concluding an agreement that would put an end to the conflict, but just wants to destroy the trade union.

Last year, E.Land bought Carrefour's 32 hypermarkets in Korea and gave employment guarantees to the workers, which it has now backed away from. This is what originally sparked the conflict.

For more stories and pictures on the E.Land workers' struggle, go to the dedicated UNI Commerce webpage:

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