사진 확대 Jung Ji-sung, a reporter for the Ministry of Industry
POSCO is at the crossroads of its first strike in 58 years. As the final adjustment of the National Labor Relations Commission broke down on the 18th due to differences between labor and management on the wage increase rate, the union secured the right to legal dispute. More than 90% of the union members voted in favor of industrial action, which is expected to be a matter of time before the actual strike.
The management’s defense logic is the ‘steel crisis theory’. It is undeniable that domestic steelmakers repeatedly reduce utilization rates and shut down due to oversupply from China, low-cost offensive, and proliferation of protection trade.
However, the union believes that while this crisis theory has been on the wage and collective bargaining table for several years, their treatment improvement has continued to be pushed back. On top of that, POSCO Group’s recent move to focus trillions of investments on new businesses such as lithium and energy is also facing opposition from its main affiliate, POSCO’s labor union.
However, the calculation method of the union’s demand must be accurately pointed out. According to the management’s estimate, 1.4 trillion won is needed to fulfill all the union demands, twice the amount of funds for last year’s wage negotiations. Critics point out that it is excessive to double the level of demand compared to the previous year at a time when there is no clear sign that the industry has rebounded. It is still a period of ‘overcoming the crisis’ rather than non-communist activities.
Steel is a key industry that supplies materials to all domestic industries such as automobiles, shipbuilding, construction, and home appliances. When POSCO stops, the wavelength does not stay only inside the POSCO fence. The impact can spread not only to local suppliers and small business owners but also to industries in demand.
The management needs to think more about the appropriate level of compensation for workers who have overcome the crisis in the field. The labor union should also have a win-win will and look coolly at the actual management risks facing the company.
If the union goes on strike, the company and the local economy will be hit together, and the impact will eventually return to the jobs and treatment of the union members. What is needed now is not confrontation and struggle, but a win-win decision for the future of the Korean manufacturing industry. It is time for labor and management to reach out to each other first to protect the “fire of the furnace,” which has not been extinguished in 58 years.
[JUNG JEONG SUNG, a reporter from the industry department]