Our demands are urgent and just. We only want to work in our workplace with our machinery where we have worked for 10 years to 30 years. The unacknowledgement of labor unions of the 'Po-Hang Iron Manufacturing Industry,' cornered down the existence of the Sammi Workers. On december 16th, last year, the Sam-Mi Industry which was in the weak decided to sell 80% of its its company to the Po-Hang Industry, and on Feb.

17th, by signing an unequal contract on employment with the Po-Hang Industry, a full scaled struggle for the continued equal employment rights of the labor union took place.

Despite the continual demands of conversation by the union, the Po-Hang Industry enforced their previous schedule. Unconcerned of the shouts of continued employment rights, the company announced their plan to employ only 1978 people out of the 2342 workers and finally employed 1777 people and claimed that they had more than enough workers.

The process of the new employment was inhumane. The forms filled out for the new employment contained humiliating phrases compared to standard companys warning the second curtailment of workers. They even had the guts go put an apprenticeship badge on a worker who had continually worked on the same machineryin the same place for 15 years.

As the agitation and repel grew, the company was busy calming down the workers. Saying that 'these conditions doesn't mean much' and blabbered on `this company is owned by the government. What would we do in this position?' Of course they promised that though in a apprenticeship, the wages will be provided due to the previous experiences of the workers.

The back of the members of the union who turned away weren't those of the traitors; it was the bitterness toward their weakness and anger toward the Po-Hang Industry.

The Po-Hang Industry even divided the new contract workers into four. The workers divided into `Chang-Won Special Steel,' 'the Po-Hang Iron industry,' `the Dong-Wu Co.,' and the `LG Distribution Inc.,' had to face hardships due to the mischief of the Po-Hang Industry.

But not all the workers were weak facing the opression of the company. The workers who demanded the just continued employment and refused to turn in the papers until the end, the workers who painfully submitted the papers and were rejected without any specific reason: they did not just step back against the violence of the Po-Hang Industry.

Right now, excepting the workers who left the company for various reasons, 342 workers are under the struggle, 120 workers out of them are actively participating in the struggle by coming to Seoul, leaving their family and friends behind, eating and sleeping on the cold cemant floor. `What did we do wrong?' An aged worker of the union exclaimed.

`it is only fair to take the workers if their machinery are bought. If Korea is the sort of country where the mismanagement of the company is taken responsible by its workers, and no law can stop the violoence of the Po-Hang Industry, we would rather leave this country.' This exclamation shows how challenging a place this society is for the workers.

We are shouting to guarantee our just rights in continued employment searching through Seoul to the Posco Center, the head office of the Po-Hang Industry, the residence of Kim Man jae(the president of the company), the Labor department, the office of the `New Korean Party,' etc.

Four people of our workers went into a hunger strike infront of the MyeungDong Cathedral for 21 days. Also in Chang-Won, the remaining workers are continuing with the struggle day and night infront of the Po-Hang Industry (ChangWon Special Steel) office. The continued employment problems occured in the process of taking over of the Sam-Mi Special Steel by the Po-Hang Industry was due to the unacknowledgement of labor unions by the Po-Hang Industry.

Not guaranteeing the rights of continued employment means redundancy dismissal. They claim that the workers are still part of the Sam-Mi Special Steel, but what meaning does it have to be a part of it without an assigned position?

The Po-Hang Industry wants to repress Sam-Mi Special Steel, who is in the weaker side and reduce any harm on their side, but this is the most detestful trickery. They said that selling part of the company will save it, but the company was dishonored a month later, and 99 workers were dismissed. They employment problems occured during the process of the undertaking is obviously an redundancy dismissal. No matter how they justify themselves it is obviously an redundancy dismissal if disguised.

Concerning the first redundancy dismissal after the effectuation of the new labor law, the labor department agreed that the guarantee of the continued employment is necessary at first, but they switched their position afterwards, as if repressed by the intensity of the Po-Hang Industry. We believe that the government is doing their job if the people are able to trust them.

This attitude of the labor department is hard to understand. The Po-Hang Industry still refuses any conversation and even sued 34 executive members of the union with charges such as the defamation, duty interference, and the assemblage and democracy report etc.

The Po-Hang Industry has their hands on the 20% of the factory that are left.

Now as one month has passsed since it is bought, the factory is partly under operation with the wages of the workers within, but because of the Po-Hang Industry who makes it difficult for the Sam-Mi to buy raw material which is the `Hot coil' necessary for the operation, the comapny is about to import the raw materials from Japan and Africa. The opression of a company owned by the government itself is just too much to bear.

Having to buy raw materials that exist within the country from overbroad...

Where is the conscience of the Po-Hang Industry management that are so logical? We workers of the Sam-Mi Special Steel struggling team are fighting under the name of thousands of workers against the Po-Hang Industry who doesn't have any common sense, and for the despaired wokers under the redundancy dismissal.

We know that the support of fellow women workers throughout the country will be of great help to our difficult struggle and hope that you contiually carry on your support and encouragement.

Actually, she expected that her husband worked for her but he has his own work of growing melons. He is put even in the situation of hiring someone to do her work. She is a mother of twins who just entered an elementary school. Let's listen to her hard but healthy life story!

In 1959, she was born in Kanghwado as the youngest daughter in a rural area. Since her childhood, she was a big helper for the farming work. Generally, the sexual discrimination between son and daughter was very serious in those days, her elder sister was not exception.

When she went to Seoul to make money, she encouraged her younger sisters to come into Seoul to study.

Yoon, Keum-soon also had a chance to go to Seoul when she was the fifth grade in elementary school. However, her hometown, Kanghwado is near to Seoul, so she had to go down her home very often to help the farming work. Although the work was so hard for such a young girl, but she was managed to do that.

She respected her father who works very hard. And she felt sorry about the poor living of her family regardless of their hard work.

She's never got tired and sick of such a hard farming work. That's why she becomes a farmer. There is an episode of her being a farmer. In Kanghwado, more than half of residents came from the North since it is located near the 38 parallel (D.M.Z).

Every morning, people get up hearing the voice of anti-communism propaganda. It was summer of her second year in the middle school. One day the microphone was telling very loudly about anti- communism.

Around that time, her male friend who she liked very much, got seriously injured by bombing a mine. This was so sad that she did not want to live any more. She became pessimistic.

At that time she thought she would be just a farmer the matter what happens in the world. She believed that was no such a thing which is honest and just like farming. After she graduated from the high school, she entered university although her parents tried to persuade her to be a civil servants.

In university, she got absorbed into theoretical and systematic studying about problems of farmers, and decided to be a farmers' movement activist. But her father didn't want to watch his daughter just doing a farming with a university education background. In spring, 1980, her senior suggested that she moved to Chungju city.

In Chungju, some activists gathered their will, and established a child-care center. She spent two years as a teacher and another year as a manager. And, in winter, 1984, she organized the women farmers' association, but it was dissolved because the village was very small and all women did not have strong will to carry on their activities.

On the basis of the experience, preparatory meetings for the farmers' association were set up, and she became a general secretary of the association. Officially, the farmers' association was established in September, 1987. In the process, she got married to the present husband, and moved to Heungsanri, North Kyeongsang Province, and became a professional farmer.

It was a hard time for both of them to do farming and to adjust themselves in many new and strange environments. She got pregnant and knew she had twins. Although she suffered from the pregnancy, she still worked in the farm and prepared to establish a child-care centre.

In 1991, the twins were born and named Jae-hoon, and So-yoon. It was a just starting point of, so called, "the war against child-care". Since the growing melon needed absolutely women's hands, so she just let the babies sleep in the room and locked the door to work.

When the babies were young enough to just sleep, it was O.K. However, since the babies began to crawl, the war started. The farming work is very much labor-intensive, after coming back home from her work, she just wanted to lie down.

But, those two kids made their mommy get more tired. One day, they played with a dish washer in the room. Guess how long she and my husband spent to get rid of the detergent from the floor!

Another day, they took out all the eggs from the fridge and broke them on the floor. Even they took out Kimchi from the container. Finally, she could not but tie up the fridge with some strings. Though farming work made her hard, she'd never regretted of being a farmer. But to take care of such naughty babies is really too tiresome!! Of course, she didn't surrender to that.

Moreover, she tried to work as a full-timer in an office of the farmers' association.

With her will to develop the farmers' movement, she became a general secretary of the Chung-buk Women Farmers' Association when the babies were one year old. Her first work was to set up the preparatory meeting for setting up child-care centers. She intended to solve the common problems of taking care of the children for working parents.

Owing to a lot of fundraising program, the Daega Day Care Centre was created, but it was hard to get a teacher. Opening it had to be delayed until in autumn. But, it was closed two years later because of a lack of the teacher. However, because the great majority of farmers are concerned with child-care, now it started to run with the great support from farmers.

On the day of opening the Daega Day Care Centre, there was no person who is happier than Yoon Keum-soon, herself. Her sons who had been brought up by her mother-in-law could get safer and better care. Everyday, they got much changes.

In 1995, she got a fund from the government as a leader of women farmers. She could write her own name on the tag of the farming products which are green pepper and cucumber. The farming work is very male-dominated and conservative.

In this light, it was very meaningful for her to put her own name as a producer. She studied about how to manage a cooperative farm with other women.

In the initial stage, she couldn't get much income from her products, but she gradually got better. Even she realized she was treated differently compared to the past. She had a sort of limitation about the various information, but she became a expert in agricultural technics and practical farming skill.

She told she was extremely happy when she picked up green peppers which was going to be her own name product. Changes in the farming area encourage her to work pleasedly. When the plants got desease or when the products were sold at a very cheap price, she had a broken heart. Nevertheless, the heart-breaking incident reversed a courage to her.

She asked other women farmers to put her own name as a producer, but it caused to a couple-quarreling in such a conservative agricultural society. Even the women farmers' meeting was often blocked by their husbands.

Generally speaking, the main female farmers' issue to be solved is a welfare thing. However, the most important problem raised by Yoon, Keum-soon is that women should be regarded as major farmers.

Of course, the welfare issue is also important. Because of lack of child-care facilities, children are ignored and mothers are easily tired by double day works. Most of female farmers suffer in a poor health condition.

Yoon Keum-soon, herself is worrying about education and lunch for her children who are elementary school students. The feeding problem of students' lunch in school costs a lot and extra work of mothers which requires mother to work in a school canteen in turn.

Besides, she is in charge of general secretary of KWFA, she has to be away from her home so often. But she appreciates sincere help from her husband in spite of his own work. Her mother-in-law said to her if she works as a full-timer for KWFA, she has to take one of her children to Seoul. That is the biggest agony to her in these days. In spite of many difficulties of working inside and outside, she gives a hope and courage to KWFA.

I am very upset by the fact that the agreement between the government, employers and employees reached as a result of six month discussion, were totally ignored while people have still put their great concern, and that the revised labour law was a worsened anti-worker labour law. People in almost all sectors including workers, scholars, journalists began to protest against the revision.

Massive nationwide rallies have been held, which reminds me of the Workers' Struggle in 1987 in Korea. There is a high level of nationwide consent that the government and the ruling party should be punished.

Wednesday rallies have been carried out in each region across the nation, and national level Saturday rallies have continued to go on until this March in Jongmyo, the Pagoda Park and the Myongdong Cathedral.

In February 25, 1997 president Kim made an official apology to people for railroading the labour law, but he did not show the will to reform the labor law.

Women workers have been victimized owing to industrial restructuring which was carried out especially in 1989 and 1990. If the labor law railroaded by the government and the ruling party is not reformed, women workers will be more badly disadvantaged.

Women workers are put in the condition in which they cannot easily find jobs although they are willing to work, due to the fact that they are in lack of adequate vocational information and training, and very poor quality of social welfare services. Most working women work on a casual and/or part-time basis, they feel extremely unstable employment. Regular and full-time women workers experience discrimination in workplaces by men, and their maternity is largely ignored.

Additionally, they are continuously threatened due to their child-caring responsibilities.

Let's look at details of the railroaded labour law that menace women workers' rights to survive, right of collective action and that of organization and that makes women workers undergo job insecurity.

1. Variable Working Hour System

   The variable working hour system is categorized into flexible work hours and flexible work time. "Flexible work hours" allows employers to demand workers to work over 44 hours without paying any overtime rate.(The weekly working hours remain within the legally stipulated 44 hours.)

   "Flexible work time" allows employers to force workers to clock-in and to clock-out over 8 hours a day and 44 working hours a week, if an agreement between the employers and workers is made.

   The variable working hour system was introduced in the 80s in Korea. But it caused serious labor problems such as increases in industrial accidents and decreases in productivity, and so it was abolished. Under the variable working hour system more difficulties in organizing workers are projected under the system, because workers can be allocated to work in different assembly lines in different work time.

   Presently, only 10% of Korean women workers are organized into labor unions, and so the system will possibly worsen union membership of women workers.

2. Lay-off System

   The clause of the 'lay-off system', which is "redundancy when the company is going through management hardship" is newly legislated. The implementation of new clause is delayed 2 years after.

   It is needless to say that women workers mostly will be victimized under the system. Women workers were the most adversely affected by several industrial restructuring previously conducted by the government in the name of "economic development."

   It was not so long ago when women workers in the textile industry in Daegu, those in the Export Processing Zone in Masan, those in the shoe industry in Pusan, and women workers who work in the garment, electronics and shoe industry across the nation, have furiously and strongly carried out struggles against their dismissals, which went on for some months through over a year.

   Due to cultural norm that men are breadwinners and women are secondary earners, women are viewed as unskilled and semiskilled workers. In this light, women are certainly projected to be the mainly victimized by the lay-off system and as a result, they will be projected to be seriously vulnerable to unstable employment.

   The gender hierarchy that men are regular workers and women are mostly irregular workers would be restructured in the labour market, so women, especially married women workers will confront great difficulties in finding a job, when compared to unmarried women.

3. Other details of the labor law

   Proposal of the labour law made by the government, seemed to allow teachers to join labor unions through the enactment of laws related to teachers' rights, but it proposed that their freedom of association would be delayed for 2 years. However, during railroading the law, this was not brought up for discussion, and any rights for teachers related unionism were not discussed. So workers are very angry with that.

   In regard to the third party intervention, the followings are removed from the categories of 'third parties': "the federation or confederation to which the concerned labor union affiliated" and "any person who have legitimate authority in accordance with the law".

   However, the third party intervention maintains its 'basic principle' of the prohibition from assistance outsides including "the persons registered by the concerned trade union and employers with the Labour Minister to receive assistance."

   Additionally, despite the deletion of prohibition of political activities of labor union, the 'Political Fund Law' and the 'Election Management Law' still prevent labor unions from supporting certain political party and raising political funds.

   The union membership of dismissed workers under this labour law is recognised only until the Central Labor Relations Commission removes their membership. However, previously their status could be maintained until the Supreme court makes decision against dismissed workers, which shows that the changed clauses deteriorate.

   The principle of 'no work no pay' is documented on the demand of employers. Wildcat strikes and labour disputes of threatening social orders are banned and punishable. Controlling, managing and guiding workers are the responsibility of labour unions, so they can be punished in case. And, strikes in the important production facilities are banned and picketing of workplaces are restricted.

   In relation to replacement of striking workers, workers in the same company, and who are non-union members are allowed to replace them and in reality, subcontracting during a period of dispute is also allowed.

   As described above, the amendment of the labour law, which had drawn attention but was being railroaded in the twinkling of an eye and this betrayed people's expectation. Further, even in March, context of the railroaded labour law is not enhanced through its enforcement ordinance, and the labour law is in the "vacancy" of its effectiveness.

   Negotiation between political parties is prolonged to March 8, 1997. However, this move is not more than political gesture for calculating political parties' interests.

   I think the time is close to complete our finishing touch of our struggles for revision of an anti-worker labor law. Let's put our more efforts to win victory of gaining a pro-worker labor law.

"Hey, I see an article on newspaper about the KCTU's strike will be g postponed, and how come this could be when we laborers didn't know about anything?"

"What does national leaders' meeting mean excluding KCTU?"

During the 27 day strike, the level of the laborers' awareness and consciousness has improved high enough to surprise the planning department of our union.

It seemed yesterday that I insisted that
"don't you read newspaper? Don't watch drama but news."

But nowdays laborers read newspaper at six before going to office, attend rallies and make inquiries about the KCTU policy. The big thing we earned at this strike was that laborers who used to be afraid of struggles against managers became much stronger. We had several painful experiences before this consequence. There were many laborers who could not participate in the strikes because manager persuaded, threatened workers charging with 'business interference'. However, we ourselves understood each other and so more and more workers came out of the strike sites.

Union members with self-confidence went up to Seoul to attend national rallies at Jongmyo, and the Myungdong Cathedral covered with tear gases, crying out the ineffectiveness of the labor law.

On January 20, we were fearfully mad when we heard the claim made by KCTU and the Council of Anam group unions that we workers should go back to our workplaces when just finalizing the so-called three step strike.

We were crying over the ineffectiveness of the strike. How terrible the decision it is? And how happy we were when we participated in the struggles?

Union members are only 42 out of all 1800 employees in my company. The monthly payment for full-timer for union is only 320,000 won. Who would want to take the position?

If the lay-off system is introduced, it would be easy to fire us who are just 42 out of total workers in the company. What we could do under the condition?

The union member who participated in the strike have strong belief in unionism and struggles! It was very hard to persuade them to go back to work and to prepare the 4th step of the struggle. As s result of the tree-day persuasion, the union members decided to thrust and follow union executives once more.

Managers forced us to write apologies. We of union members could not work and had to spend a day at manager's office. We were replaced by non-union members. We fought against the company quite well enduring the painful and bitter day. We, union members would view the situations optimistically.

O.K.! This is just beginning. Political parties promised that they would revise the labor in the right direction during the temporary session of the National Assembly. It is just the nominal thing for the parties. However, we, workers would keep our struggling until pro-worker's labor law is obtained.

The total amount of retirement fund and delayed wages for all of 129 employees are 76 million won. However, what seemed suspicious from bank's search on the company is that the amount of dishonored bill is just 24 million won.

Also, the company president Jung-soo Lee has already changed the name of all of his properties to his wife's and child's names two months before the dishonor, and he had a legal divorce with his wife after a month of that. As a result, this sees obviously as an intentional dishonor.

We thought we could get back all our money through legal procedure. However, another fact came out by the prosecutor was that bank was the first in hand when the auction for the company building and land was held, because they had been put in the fixed collateral before 1989.

Every worker was in dispair by the fact. Who would protect us when even law cannot? This means that we had to find ourselves a way to get out of it.

We organized teams to find the president and made advertisements to distribute. We visited even the police and the Ministry of Labor. Since the company president has prepared the dishonor for a long time, he did not make any pay of employment insurance, medical insurance and pension for workers.

Phone bill and even bills for buying stationery is not paid. Because of 30 million won of electricity bill was left behind, we have stayed cold from the seven day in the chilly winter when the dishonor had occurred.

Finally on December 9, 1996 to solve our living problems we rented a generator for producing some limited amounts of half-finished lighters, and on December 21 we successfully finished our one-day wine-selling market as means of making money for continuing our struggles.

Although the labor law and social security law were passed in a hurry, we fought against the labor law with other workers. In December and January, payment for our costs of living were made twice, but we had to make a big decision because there were no products left. The president who had run away was not caught and the police and the office of Labor were busy just making excuses.

Finally 40 people left decided to take further fight, and so for this, we held climbing mountain competition on January 31, 1997. We set up the first step to take a legal procedure about the dishonor, unpaid salary and retirement fund; the second step to secure our rights to survive; and the third step to fight until the problems related to dishonor are solved.

We started to take legal steps through the auction from March, but there was not anything left for us. So the main things in our three-step struggle were to persuade the Office of Labor and the Police to settle the dishonor and to catch the president.

To catch him we went around Sadang-dong and Bangbae-dong as well as Chungju, Taejon and Pusan (wherever he may appear) in holiday. On February 17, we visited the Office of Labor. Although officers of the Labor who should work for workers, were discontent with our activities and did nothing for workers for the last three months, they disturbed our attempt to enter the building.

So, physical fight took place and then a woman worker cried out of the despair: "why is it illegal for us labourers to go into this office for labourers?"

She said that these policemen who are not letting us in, could have caught over tens of bad people like the president if they were put around his house. When a policeman threatened her saying that she could get hurt if she would not go back home immediately, she answered that she would die here rather than just go back home. Scared with her remark, the policemen and officers ran away into the building. Since that day, we have undertaken strikes before the office.

We also went around by election camps for the district of Incheon Seo-gu. We had a small celebration to commemorate solidarity of the laborers in other companies who gave us much help, on the 100th day of our struggle. Some married women workers performed a drama for our struggle against the dishonor and sang a song which make us stronger.

At the initial stage, we argued about whether our struggle should be for getting back our money or not. But now, we aimed at building beautiful community, through understanding one another.

The three-month struggle has provided the chance for us to get into one. And through this we will win at this battle. Although our ways would be harsher, all of us will overcome all hardship.