Park Oh Sook
(Head of Women Workers Committee, Pusan Women's Association)
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Age 20·21 - The age of dreams.
- If they had just listened a little to our story.....v
It was February 1994 when the organic solvent in question was first used. At that time, the victims complained of difficulty in breathing, headaches, and dizziness, but the company ignored them each time. Instead they created a terrorizing atmosphere by asking them who was making them complain. After a year, the workers showed symptoms of dizziness, headaches, shaky hands, partial paralysis, back and leg pain, memory loss, anemia, and cessation of menstruation.
The seriousness of this problem was exposed by an article in the Pusan Daily five months later, and 33 different women, labor, environment, and citizen groups organized a citizen's countermeasure committee. Yet in this situation in which the actual victims did not actively protest, the statement by the citizen's countermeasure committee or their demand for a resolution to the problem did not carry enough weight and so their was no satisfactory outcome in 1995.
In January, 1996, it was acknowledged for the first time in the world that Solvent poisoning had side effects. The 23 workers that were judged as suffering from industrial poisoning were confirmed to have not only partial paralysis of the ovaries and sterility, but also anemia and weakening of the marrow function. The company promised to take responsibility for all compensation and treatment, but these illnesses are all incurable with present medical technology.
- Victims stand up for a resolution to the problem
Afterwards, with the family council and citizen's countermeasure committee actively uniting, vigorous action began. Through education to increase the victims' understanding of their problem, education about the resolution of the industrial poisoning of hundreds of workers at Won-Jin Rayon, legal counseling about compensation, and explanations about symptoms to the victims, the seriousness of the situation was understood, and the victims realized that their own firm actions were necessary.
Encouraged by this, the office for LG victims opened in February and full-scale action started. For the first time in their life, the victimized women made their own pamphlets (Letter to the workers of the Union) and disseminated information at the front gate of the company, which was previously considered a taboo. At first, they gave out pamphlets wearing masks and caps out of shame and fear.
Yet, when they saw the anti-propaganda written out to fellow workers by the company, they threw away their masks and caps and simply gave out their pamphlets right to the last worker leaving for home at night. Later on, the women continued on to Pusan Station, LG Kwangju factory, and cross-country bus stops to actively make known their situation.
The company was shocked by this and tried to coax workers with few symptoms (starting with male workers) to make individual agreements with the company. As a result 29 laborers made agreements with the company and the remaining 13 victims were pressured in various ways to also reach agreements.
Then, on the 6th of March, the council of victims and the citizen's countermeasure committee held a "Public Forum on Organic Solvent Poisoning in LG Electronics" together.
The forum provided a means of increasing the understanding of the safe usage of organic solvent, how symptoms are generated, and emphasized that the most important point is to ensure healthy working rights through legal and systematic means. Also, as a result of the forum, it was proposed that a third mediating group that was recognized by both the council of victims and the company be formed. This gave a new opportunity to solve the problem.
Responsibility for all treatment and reemployment, compensation for physical and mental damage, and bonuses were all agreed upon as the victims requested on March 20th and the matter was solved. The citizen's countermeasure committee will give a report about it on April 16th.
- What Group Solvent Poisoning Shows us
Yet, this never ending incident left us with many questions. In a society advancing towards the 21th century, the reality of female laborers is still in the seventies. If the twelve hour two-shift operation in a badly smelling sealed work-place and the absence of education on the use of toxic material and ventilation is the situation of LG, the leading industry of the country (although the situation changed afterwards) it is easy to guess what the reality of the many small and medium industries is.
"If they had listened to our complaints of unbearable headaches and breathing difficulties and dizziness, if there only existed safety education and protection zones, if a physical check-up was done at least once a week, this shameful group solvent poisoning would never have happened....." This tearful and unfinished appeal by one of the victims left the writer of this article in heartache.
Meeting the right guy, falling in love, giving birth to adorable children, and living a normal happy life is not too big a dream. Yet there are women who are deprived of such an ordinary dream. They are the victims of organic solvent poisoning at LG Electronics; not just one or two, but the women on an entire line, who used the mixture of Solvent 5200 and SPG6AR as a detergent, lost their right to motherhood, and are suffering from chronic side-effects in return for working diligently.
"Such a horrifying thing wouldn't have happened if they had just listened a little to our story," said a victimized laborer in tears. This incident, which could have been prevented if the company had been more cautious, ended with enormous damage and left us in great pain.