This strike does not involve pay and work conditions and therefore is illegal. It didn’t even undergo a vote among union members. Some union members even put posters on the factory walls, questioning why they must become hostages of a political strike launched by union leaders. Some even told union leaders to strike by themselves. The residents of Ulsan pleaded with Hyundai Motor union leaders to refrain from striking. Still, they went ahead with a strike.

When the anti-FTA slogan failed to rally support, the Hyundai Motor union insisted the strike was a prelude to a collective bargaining session. Since Thursday morning, senior union members were sent to the main gate and individual plants to monitor union members. As if they were nervous about participation in the strike, union leaders ordered members to gather for a rally at 12:30 p.m., half an hour before the strike, and made them all go home after the rally was over.

Despite the efforts of the union, around 9,000 of the 14,000 dayshift workers reportedly did not participate in the strike. Materials, sheet and engine plants as well as shipping offices and service factories operated normally. At one plant, union members engaged in a shoving match with senior union members who tried to force workers to down tools. This was an unprecedented sight at Hyundai, which had seen strikes each year except one since the company was founded in 1987.

The government should punish them sternly according to the “zero tolerance” policy it has warned of. Most of all, the company’s management needs to take a firm stand. It must seek reparations for the losses incurred by the striking union workers. Consumers are getting tired of watching Hyundai Motor cave in to the union and pay them bonuses to compensate for pay lost during annual strikes. The only way to stop these stubborn strikes is for consumers to make the unionists pay the price.