26 March, 2007
The Lafarge Group of France has become intransigent in a year-long dispute with subcontracting workers at a cement plant in South Korea. Despite ICEM and Building and Woodworkers’ International (BWI) insistence that the company drop legal appeals over freedom of association rights won for eight contract workers, Lafarge continues to spend money and resources on appealing an issue that involves trade union organisation.
In March 2006, managers at Lafarge’s Okgye, South Province, cement plant fired 13 workers, after 21 of 35 workers of Woojin Industry, a subcontractor of Lafarge, joined the Korean Chemical and Textile Workers Federation (KCTF). Lafarge also cancelled the contract of Woojin, and shifted the equipment and jobs to two other subcontractors, Sehwa Industry and Daewon Industry.
In late September 2006, the Gangwon Regional Labour Relations Commission ruled that Lafarge is legally the employer for the dismissed contract workers, since they worked as agency workers for more than two years. The court ordered Lafarge to re-employ the workers, and pay them for the periods of dismissal.
When Lafarge failed to adhere to the ruling, KCFT was forced to take the case to the National Labor Relations Commission. In November, the ICEM and BWI strongly urged senior managers of Lafarge – through the Global Framework Agreement the two labour federations have with the company – to step in to resolve the matter in good faith. A month later, in December 2006, the Gangwon Regional Commission issued unfair labour practice citations on Lafarge for failing to negotiate with KCFT over the matter.
The dismissed workers have conducted sit-downs and picketing at the cement plant, as well as at Lafarge’s offices in Seoul and the home of new Lafarge Halla CEO Frederic de Rougemont. Throughout 2006, Lafarge in South Korea has dispatched mid-level managers to talk with KCFT, who have no authority to act.
The case is now before the central labour commission, with Lafarge employing expensive and wasteful counsel to reverse the freedom of association rights inherent for all workers at the Okgye cement plant.
The ICEM and BWI will continue to press this issue through all available avenues. Lafarge acquired Halla Cement of Korea in 1998.