Organizing in the high-tech industry on-going in Korea too!
The movement by the workers at Amazon has been highly publicized by the media, both mainstream and independent, and has drawn positive responses from the progressive sector the world over. Similar movements are on-going in South Korea as well, where the information technology field has grown exponentially in recent years. Workers at Multi-Data System and Venture Valley have both formed trade unions, but have been met with layoffs and even closure of companies by management and shareholders.
Source : PICIS
The movement by the workers at Amazon has been highly publicized by the media, both mainstream and independent, and has drawn positive responses from the progressive sector the world over. Similar movements are on-going in South Korea as well, where the information technology field has grown exponentially in recent years. Workers at Multi-Data System and Venture Valley have both formed trade unions, but have been met with layoffs and even closure of companies by management and shareholders. The efforts by the workers at those two so called 'venture companies' have sparked new movements within workers at other companies despite the coercive actions by the owners.
Due to the recent slowdown in investment in the IT field, stemming from the drop in the Korean stock market and instability in the economy, 'venture companies' have been cutting back and lowering costs by laying-off workers. Many have gone bankrupt, or been acquired by bigger companies supported by major corporations(in which case layoffs also occur). Such companies had previously been praised as having the potential to bring the economy out of its recession, and this exaggeration triggered much of the new flow of investment into this field. With the bubble slowly bursting however, workers at these companies have started to form unions and question the way the owners have run the company and the direction it was headed. They have been met with outright threats and strong-arm tactics, as owners and shareholders have layed off workers attempting to form a union, closed down offices once unions have been formed, and have ignored attempts for negotiations with the workers.
Despite the attention paid to such companies for their revolutionary change in management structure and the way the company is run, recent events seem to show that these companies, and the way they are managed are not all that different from other companies in Korea when it comes to worker's rights and management-labor relations. The struggle by the workers in the IT industry continue however, as the workers at Multi-Data System and Venture Valley have been out in the streets after being laid off, demanding reinstatement and recognition of the union. Talks are underway at other 'venture companies' for unions and other organizations that could protect the rights of workers.
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