By Kim Jae-won
SOKCHO, Gangwon Province ― A beautiful beach runs alongside the resort town of Sokcho on the East Coast. Meals are served at a hotel-style restaurant, with people clad in shorts and flip-flops waiting in a queue. The scene could be describing employees on a company-sponsored group tour.
Instead it is how members of the trade union of SC First Bank are staging a general strike in this port city. Back in Seoul and around the nation, the bank’s branches remain deserted with only a skeleton crew on hand.
The union has gone on a general strike since June 27 opposing a performance-based payment system, which the management seeks to introduce next year.
The SC First union has been criticized by the media and the public for its “luxury strike,” by occupying the Hyundai Soo Resort. SC First’s union is not the first to go on a remote strike in a resort town. Other well-paid workers sometimes isolate themselves to prevent management from cajoling union members into switching sides.
All of the workers are required to take part in the union’s activities, such as group discussions in the morning.
“Workers participate in the scheduled programs. Young employees in their 20s and early 30s also follow the timetable well,” said Lee Kyu-jin, a vice chairman of the union.
A couple of female workers greeted Lee by an elevator with big smiles, and said they discussed the performance-based payment system earnestly.
Workers are not allowed to leave the resort located on the slopes of Mt. Seorak except for emergencies, such as to see a doctor.
Even in that case, the sick employee must obtain written permission, issued by the union, to pass the front gate. Union leaders examine cars and people going in and out of the resort. They resemble soldiers guarding a military camp.
“I’m sorry that we have a luxury strike here,” union leader Kim Jae-yul joked, referring to critical media reports.
Kim said that he cooked his own breakfast. “Nobody makes breakfast for me. I do it myself.”
At noon, scores of unionists lined up at a restaurant at the resort, while some cook in their rooms.
Union leaders are concerned about the general strike lasting much longer as they have only rented the resort until the weekend.
“We should find another location if the strike continues next week,” said Vice Chairman Lee. He said that the meals, which the resort provides, cost 6,000 won ($5.60) each and it is a burden on the union’s budget.