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On Mon, Aug 3, 2009

KMWU

inter metal.nodong.org

Dear friends ,

We urgently request your solidarity regarding Ssangyong Motor Workers’ dispute. It is urgent for the Korean government to step up and play a role toward a peaceful settlement!

Our union members’ lives are in danger.

– Ssangyong Motor management unilaterally broke off negotiations and

– management is calling for riot police to raid the paintshop building or they will use their privately built up forces to enter the paintshop.
- -> further they have cut off the electricity, making for an extremely dangerous situation .

The company has used these private forces to repeatedly attack the sit-in strike and incite clashes.

The police should not allow company-hired private security forces and company-organized goons to attack the striking workers with nunchakus, pipes and other artillery, but the police allow them in and work together with them, dividing up responsibilities with non-State actors such as hired thugs who have no accountability and feel immune to law since they are already working joint operations together with the police.

Thus, the workers on a long strike with tension and lack of sleep and a very sensitive state are incited by the thugs to act in self-defense, while the government plays the role of precipitating violence by allowing these thugs into the dispute and also escalating tensions and self-defense instincts by creating a climate of fear and intimidation with continuously flying helicopters above, dropping chemical substances on sit-in strikers giving them chemical burns, and not allowing humanitarian aid such as food, water, medical care freely pass unimpeded. Even prisoners of war are treated better than our union members on strike.

For almost the whole time, management has been urging the riot police to stamp out the strike, but briefly came to the negotiating table.

But with riot police, private security forces and goons training and waiting during the negotiations and maintaining the blockade on water and food.

Thus, management does not feel pressure to genuinely try to come to terms with the union because it can also resort to calling the riot police and management decided to walk out of negotiations, informing us through press conference .

PLEASE INFORM US OF YOUR SOLIDARITY ACTIONS!

In solidarity,

Hyewon Chong
KMWU
_inter metal.nodong.org

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July 22, 2009

Dear Colleagues,

“Lay-off is Murder”

We updated photos to show brutal violence of police against the striking workers of Ssangyong Motor at the KCTU web-site(http://kctu.org). Please visit it.

Brief Updated Situation :

– The Ssangyong Motor workers are still holding down their sit-in area

– But the goons destroyed the family members’ sit-in area in front of the plant’s main gates

– We have just discovered they are mixing paint thinner into the tear gas concentrate which is why the chemicals they are dropping from helicopters today melts styrofoam when it comes in contact

– KCTU embarked upon general strike today

– KMWU held 4 hour general strike with members from neighboring regions going to the Ssangyong Motor plant at Pyeongtaek in sympathy with the workers holding out inside ( so far over 20 of our members have been arrested )

Remove police forces from Ssangyong motor dispute! Begin government/trade union Negotiations !

Withdraw redundancy dismissals ! Inject needed government aid !

Redundancy Dismissals is Murder! We will not pay for your crisis!

Again we are calling for your urgent solidarity for sit-in striking workers of Ssangyong Motor.

Please circulate as widely as possible.

In Solidarity,

Lee Changgeun
International Executive Director
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
Tel.: +82-2-2670-9118 Fax: +82-2-2635-1134
E-mail: inter kctu.org Web-site : http://kctu.org
2^nd Fl. Daeyoung Bld., 139 Youngdeungpo-2-ga, Youngdeungpo-ku, Seoul 150-032 Korea