My analysis of the Ssangyong occupation..

For 77 days, nearly a thousand workers occupied the Ssangyong factory in Pyeongtaek in a losing battle against layoffs. During this time, the workers would be attacked by the management, other workers, the media and the government itself with violence. Despite this, they managed to hold until almost the very end when it became clear that they were going to lose their fight. Many people are quick to blame the union leaders at the strike for calling the armistice, which I find completely unfair considering that the situation looked like it was going to be bloody.

The workers had an uphill battle to fight from the very get go. Ssangyong Motors is one of the smallest auto manufacturers in Korea, and Ssangyong is a relatively smaller chaebol. Furthermore, the company was already deep in financial problems before the occupation took place. Its a miracle that the company has not completely liquidated yet. This makes it easier for management and media to pain the striking workers in a negative light and makes the possible awards more minimal. If this was Hyundai or even Kia, things might have been slightly different.

Finally, this occupation shows how badly the KCTU is doing right now. The KCTU did absolutely nothing for the workers, and did not even promote their cause until very late in the game. There also seemed very little attempts to coordinate the occupation with the other strikes that were going on at the time. The KCTU seems to be interested in being involved in parliamentarian tactics and trying to deal with its own inner turmoil. The KCTU was suppose to be the more militant and independent alternative from the FKTU, but it looks like it is becoming irrelevant. Whether or not we should be surprised that a trade federation that existed thanks due to its own armistice with the government would have these problems is worth another post on its own.