[Editorial] New Labor Movements

Executives from labor unions, who led general strikes with the atmosphere of democratization in the late 1980s, established the “New Right New Labor Union (NRNLU).” They will head a new way for the labor movement which is aiming to prevent violent feuds and create more jobs. Kwon Yong-mok, a representative of NRNLU, was imprisoned four times for his strong labor movements, and was appointed the first security-general of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions in 1995. He felt disillusioned and left the labor world in which jusapa, the National Liberation faction, penetrated. Therefore, it is considered that Kwon is willing to get over an aggressive unionism which only promotes the labor-management conflict with this New Right movement after having stayed away for a decade.

“Juche theory has entered the labor movements from the late 1980s, and there is still a conflict of theory between national liberation and populism,” says Kwon. He implies where the labor movement of violence and anti-business is rooted from. The movement of the left faction was in vogue among universities and the labor world some time around the 1980s. However, it is an anachronism if they cannot escape from the extreme left faction when the communist governments of Eastern Europe and Soviet Union collapsed with democracy settling in.

The Korean labor-management relations have been last among 61 countries for four years in a row, according to the evaluation of the global competitiveness conducted by International Institute for Management Development, Switzerland. Lee Yong-deuk, the chairman of Federation of Korean Trade Unions who participated in a foreign investment fair, says, “Although foreign investors regard Korea as the best bet to invest, they are considering China and Taiwan over Korea because of its intense relations between labor and management.” If an enterprise loses its competitiveness due to ferocious strikes by the labor union, it results in less jobs, and the enterprise will go abroad to avoid a strong labor union.

The New Right New Labor Union claims in its declaration of establishment that the old labor movement is over with disregard of public in the reality which causes a vicious cycle of unemployment. It is timely and right to read the demands of public and the era. More reasonable and moderate labor movement should create a new way in the labor world in order to overcome an aggressive unionism of Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.