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Jeong Gap-deuk, the head of the Korean Metal Workers' Union, an affiliate of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, on Thursday said members could discuss freezing wages and other "pain sharing" measures if the government seeks talks about ways to overcome the economic crisis. But the KMWU offered a precondition, saying employers must refrain from firing even a single worker in lowering average 2,537 hours of labor a year to less than 2,200 hours. The KMWU also demanded employers to donate 10 percent of surplus corporate funds to social welfare programs. It also asked for more compensation from the government in line with cuts in working hours and funding to retain jobs.
The KMWU is Korea's largest industrial union with around 100,000 members in 230 sub unions in the automotive, steel and shipbuilding industries. It was responsible for 55 percent of strikes last year. It is good news that such a militant union has offered to take part in talks in order to overcome the economic crisis.
But while making quite specific demands of the government and employers, the KMWU used the abstract term "talks to discuss pain sharing measures" in referring to concessions it could make. Jeong said the KMWU has no intention of voluntarily offering to freeze or cut wages before negotiations take place. That sounds as if they will want to hear the concessions offered by the government and employers before they make any move.
Each month since October, some 200 companies have closed down. A large number of shipbuilders will be forced to close down due to restructuring, while declining exports has forced automakers to halt production, lower output and begin to lay off workers. Jobs are dwindling, and the ranks of unemployed people are growing fast. As of the end of last year, the official number of jobless Koreans stands at 750,000, rising to 3 million if people who have stopped looking for work are included.
When the Netherlands experienced negative economic growth and jobless rates soaring to 12 percent in the 1980s, the country overcame the crisis with union and management officials signing the Wassenaar Agreement. Labor accepted a 9 percent cut in real wages for two years, while businesses sought to increase jobs by lowering working hours by 5 percent. In the 1990s, the 15 EU member countries all saw jobs decline due to negative economic growth, but the Netherlands was able to achieve an average 2.8 percent growth each year, while the number of jobs rose 1.7 percent.
There is hope for Korean workers and businesses. Since October, labor and employers have agreed to wage freezes or cuts in 774 out of 5,667 companies employing at least 100 workers that reached wage agreements with laborers. If the KMWU is sincerely willing to make sacrifices, its offer to share the pain will be applauded.
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