Fiery clashes as Daewoo protests continue

Protests continue in South Korea as demonstrators hurl firebombs at riot police.

Pupyong, South Korea, Feb. 24— Throwing rocks and firebombs, hundreds of South Korean labor activists clashed with riot police Saturday in the fifth day of violent street protests against mass layoffs at ailing Daewoo Motor Co.

Violence erupted after 4,000 riot police blocked a square where Daewoo workers and their supporters had planned to hold a mass rally.

Shouting “Cancel the layoffs!” about 800 protesters marched along a street near Daewoo’s main plant in Pupyong, 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of the South Korean capital, Seoul.

They occupied an eight-lane boulevard and burned tires, sending thick columns of smoke billowing through the snowy sky.

About 200 workers clashed with police, some swinging steel and throwing dozens of firebombs.

Others broke the concrete sidewalk into fist-sized rocks and threw them at police, who deflected the missiles with interlocked shields.

Two vans mounted with loudspeakers broadcast solidarity songs and speeches denouncing a restructuring program by the failing automaker that has resulted in a 40 percent reduction of its workforce.

Protests to increase

Organizers said they expected the number of protesters to increase. Earlier, they had predicted that the rally would attract 10,000 workers and supporters from Seoul and its adjacent areas.

“We must fight. Workers cannot be the only victims,” said Dan Byong-ho, head of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions.

Daewoo, which has been in receivership since last year, laid off 1,751 workers last week as part of a restructuring plan designed to sweeten a takeover deal with US industry giant General Motors Corp.

The workers who lost their jobs immediately began a sit-in protest at the company’s main plant. Police broke up the sit-in four days later, prompting the protesters to take to the streets.

About 100 have been arrested in violent demonstrations.

Layoffs a condition for GM talks

Daewoo, South Korea’s third-largest car maker, collapsed during the 1997-98 Asian economic crisis. It filed for court receivership in November with an estimated bank debt of $15 billion.

GM entered negotiations to take over Daewoo in September after Ford Motor Co. withdrew a bid. Layoffs are a key condition of the talks.

Daewoo has a worldwide production capacity of 2 million vehicles.

Although in deep financial trouble, it offers potential buyers of the automakers a means of breaking into South Korea’s closed market and may also serve as a stepping stone into China’s growing market.

Source: Cable News Network: www.cnn.com

Witnesses sought in sweatshop suit

Hong Kong, China, Feb. 27— Chinese factory workers forced to produce brand-name products under inhuman conditions are being urged by lawyers to come forward as witnesses.

A class-action lawsuit launched by 25,000 predominantly Chinese workers remains in limbo after several months of legal wrangling, the South China Morning Post reported.

The workers claim that they paid thousands of dollars to recruitment agencies for jobs in the US.

The positions were in fact at eight Hong Kong-run factories based in Saipan in the remote and undeveloped Northern Mariana Islands, a US protectorate in the Pacific Ocean. Lawyers for the workers allege that the factories forced employees to work in hot, cramped and unsafe conditions while under pressure to meet strict production quotas.

The Post reported that workers have already secured a partial victory after 19 garment companies, including well-known designer labels Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, agreed to settle claims totaling US$8-million (S$14 million) in unpaid wages.

However, the firms are unwilling to hand over the money until legal loose-ends are resolved.

The firms also agreed upon an independent monitoring system to prevent future labor abuses.

Other retailers, including blue jean manufacturer Levi Strauss, have so far refused to settle workers’ claims.

Source: Agence France Presse