南韓工人在台抗議永豐餘關廠
S. Korean workers protest factory closing
By Stephanie Chao, The China Post
March 25, 2015, 12:05 am TWN
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Workers from South Korean company Hydis, which was combined with Taiwan's E Ink Holdings Inc. (元太科技) in 2008, protested in front of the Labor Ministry yesterday against E Ink's closing of their South Korean factory.
E Ink is a subsidiary of Yuen Foong Yu Group (永豐餘集團).
The workers issued a petition at the Ministry of Labor yesterday morning. The vice president of the Korean Metal Workers Union, surnamed Chiang (姜), said “unemployment equals murder.” Hydis workers also said they do not want severance pay or pensions, but a job and a means to survive.
Department of Employment Relations Section Chief Hsu Gen-kui (許根魁) of the Labor Ministry said they will look into the case carefully because it is the first petition regarding overseas workers. He reminded citizens that want to invest overseas that they should not only ensure altruistic management, but also abide by local laws and observe International Labour Organization Conventions.
E Ink's Chief Financial Officer Chen Le-chun (陳樂群) said that after the board of directors came to an agreement to close the Korean factory in January, a retirement plan was proposed together with career counseling, education subsidies for workers' children and other measures, in hopes the union would continue the negotiations.
Chen pointed out that this is the second time South Korean workers have arrived in Taiwan to protest. He urged these workers to stop spreading rumors and to return to normal negotiation procedures.
Low quality and high operating costs were a problem since the merger with Hydis in 2008, resulting in the factory's closure, said Chen.
The closing of the Hydis Incheon factory in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province will result in the loss of around 800 jobs, said the workers' union.
On Feb. 12, six Hydis workers held a rally in front of Yuen Foong Yu Group's headquarters by kneeling down and touching their foreheads to the ground for every three steps they took. Taiwanese union activists also joined the protest.
The Metalworkers Union of the Korean Council of Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, both which Hydis is a part of, have allied together. By holding protests in South Korea and coming to Taiwan twice, they hope E Ink and Yuen Foong Yu will pay more attention to corporate social responsibility and revoke the factory closure and dismissal decisions.
March 25, 2015, 12:05 am TWN
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Workers from South Korean company Hydis, which was combined with Taiwan's E Ink Holdings Inc. (元太科技) in 2008, protested in front of the Labor Ministry yesterday against E Ink's closing of their South Korean factory.
E Ink is a subsidiary of Yuen Foong Yu Group (永豐餘集團).
The workers issued a petition at the Ministry of Labor yesterday morning. The vice president of the Korean Metal Workers Union, surnamed Chiang (姜), said “unemployment equals murder.” Hydis workers also said they do not want severance pay or pensions, but a job and a means to survive.
Department of Employment Relations Section Chief Hsu Gen-kui (許根魁) of the Labor Ministry said they will look into the case carefully because it is the first petition regarding overseas workers. He reminded citizens that want to invest overseas that they should not only ensure altruistic management, but also abide by local laws and observe International Labour Organization Conventions.
E Ink's Chief Financial Officer Chen Le-chun (陳樂群) said that after the board of directors came to an agreement to close the Korean factory in January, a retirement plan was proposed together with career counseling, education subsidies for workers' children and other measures, in hopes the union would continue the negotiations.
Chen pointed out that this is the second time South Korean workers have arrived in Taiwan to protest. He urged these workers to stop spreading rumors and to return to normal negotiation procedures.
Low quality and high operating costs were a problem since the merger with Hydis in 2008, resulting in the factory's closure, said Chen.
The closing of the Hydis Incheon factory in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province will result in the loss of around 800 jobs, said the workers' union.
On Feb. 12, six Hydis workers held a rally in front of Yuen Foong Yu Group's headquarters by kneeling down and touching their foreheads to the ground for every three steps they took. Taiwanese union activists also joined the protest.
The Metalworkers Union of the Korean Council of Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, both which Hydis is a part of, have allied together. By holding protests in South Korea and coming to Taiwan twice, they hope E Ink and Yuen Foong Yu will pay more attention to corporate social responsibility and revoke the factory closure and dismissal decisions.
