Chapter 254
Chapter 254
It’s been ten days since the all-out strike.
As the strike was prolonged, the unions were also feeling great pressure. According to the principle of no work, no pay, no wages are paid during the strike period.
For this reason, Eunsung Cha’s union held a new concept circular strike last year and the year before to minimize wage loss. Each part producer takes turns strikes for two or three hours. Due to the nature of the conveyor belt, even if one process is stopped, subsequent processes are impossible. Some workers just take turns going on partial strikes, while others play automatically.
In this way, the strike effect can be maximized with the minimum wage loss.
Even with such a good method, the reason for choosing the all-out strike is to put maximum pressure on the management side. As everyone knows that the situation is not good anyway, I was thinking of ending the negotiation quickly.
If only the hiring of children first is resolved, there is a willingness to make sufficient concessions in regards to wage increases and performance pay.
Union Chairman Joo Seong-moo spearheaded the strike and assured that the management would come to the negotiating table within three days.
However, to this day, the company has not moved.
Partners complained of extreme difficulties. Tier 1 and Tier 2 vendors of a certain size struggled with their teeth, but the subcontractors screamed.
As the situation of the workers of the subcontractors became known, public opinion about the strike worsened. In particular, there was an atmosphere where everyone criticized the hiring of children first as it was an employment inheritance.
The Eunseong-cha union refrained from responding in order not to escalate the issue, and attempted to contact the management under the water.
I was being careful like this, but suddenly Kang Jin-hoo came up and criticized the union. It was like pouring oil into a house on fire.
Kang Jin-hoo’s remarks made the media and the Internet noisy every day.
From the perspective of the Eunsung Cha union, it was just absurd. The members shouted in exasperated voices.
“Why does this guy keep hanging on to other people’s ancestral tables?”
“What do you think Ji knows?
“Who the hell is this kid on?”
Kang Jin-hoo and Eun Seong-cha’s bad relationship is well known in the world. Are you blaming the union for that?
It is now impossible not to respond. The Eunseong-cha union decided to hold a demonstration in Tokyo in front of the OTK Company headquarters together with the metallurgical union.
“Let’s go to punish Kang Jin-hoo, who looks down on the union!”
“Let’s show our strength!”
“Right!”
However, when the day of the protest came, Kang Jin-hoo shut down the company altogether.
Joo Seong-moo, chairman of the labor union, could not contain his absurdity.
When a protest takes place in front of the headquarters, the president often does not go to work. But emptying the company entirely is unprecedented.
‘What is this? Is it a new concept of blue-field tactics?
In this way, if you say you are going to protest, you are only shouting in front of an empty house. However, I finished all the preparations and made an announcement to the press, but it is impossible not to do it.
On the day of the protest, thousands of workers from the metal labor union gathered in front of the OTK Company headquarters and around Gangnam Station.
Joo Seong-moo, chairman of the union, shouted loudly in front of the closed building and the lights out.
“I condemn Kang Jin-hoo for trampling on workers’ rights and taking the lead in destroying the union!”
“I condemn! I condemn it!”
“Apologize to workers across the country after Kang Jin-hoo!”
“Apologize! Apologize!”
* * *
We watched the protests on TV in the living room.
Taehyung said with a surprised expression.
“Wow! A lot of people have gathered.”
Flags with the words “Where union, where branch” flew vigorously, and union members with red headbands clasped their fists and shouted loudly.
The guards surrounded the area and controlled the streets.
“uh! That guy just insulted you. Looking at the shape of his mouth, it seems like the color of the bread was different after the earthquake.”
“… … .”
Good thing you didn’t go to work.
Since it was posted because of me, most of the remarks were criticisms of me. There seems to be a bit of swearing here and there.
I’ve been swearing a lot, so I’m not even that impressed.
Taek-gyu looked out his window.
“Why don’t you come to the front of the house?”
“OK. Residential areas do not have protest permits.”
Protests took place not only in OTK Company but also in front of Eunsung Motor’s headquarters. On the weekend, a large-scale rally hosted by the KCTU will be held in Gwanghwamun.
Don’t go outside for nothing, just stay at home quietly.
Senior Sangyeop said while eating pizza next to him.
“After all, pizza is M pizza. Once you try it, you won’t be able to eat another pizza.”
Not long ago, M Pizza opened in Ceylon State in Yeoksam-dong. Thanks to this, I was able to order it in Gangnam.
The management of M Pizza is entirely left up to the Ceylon Hotel.
The domestic pizza market is less than half that of chicken. On the other hand, however, it can be seen that the growth potential is large.
President Su-mi Lim focused on building a premium image rather than forcibly increasing the number of branches. That’s why we set up our head office at the Ceylon Hotel in Namsan.
M Pizza costs a lot of initial investment, but after that, labor costs can be drastically reduced. And the saved labor costs are invested in ingredients to make healthy and delicious pizza.
Thanks to this, the market response is very good, and it is selling very hotly.
As soon as the Gangnam branch opened, there was a long line, and delivery reservations were so popular that they were all closed within 30 minutes of opening.
I picked up the pizza and turned my head to the side.
“Why have you been here since noon?”
“I came to play because my company representative told me not to go to work.”
“I told you to work from home, I didn’t give you a vacation.”
“okay? When I asked Ki-hong to play a game of billiards earlier, he said that he and Hyeon-jeong were going to play at Nami Island.”
“… … .”
Is this why companies don’t let people work from home?
Taek-gyu said while lying on the sofa.
“I’m bored because I don’t go to work.”
“You’re bored even when you go to work.”
The employees are probably all enjoying the leisure time thanks to the Eunsung Cha union. I’ve worked hard all this time, so sometimes I have to have days like this.
“By the way, what were your thoughts on the Eunsung Tea union? As you can see, even that Park Si-hyung couldn’t even touch them.”
“Politicians have no choice but to be conscious of their votes.”
I don’t know if it’s an unknown small business union. It is risky to touch the unions of large corporations. The Eunseong Cha union belongs to the Metal Workers’ Union, and the Metal Workers’ Union belongs to the KCTU.
Protests aren’t the problem, but millions of votes can be lost if done wrong. For this reason, both conservatives and liberals are very passive about union issues.
“Are you really going to create an electric vehicle production complex in Asia?”
“It is still in the conception stage, and we are talking with Chairman Im Jin-yong.”
From the moment Karos decided to produce the car himself, the most important consideration was production. So, in addition to taking over the existing factories, they invested huge amounts of money to build new factories in Rustbelt.
However, estimating future sales volume, it is difficult to wait for the North American and European markets even if all of the factories are in operation.
In the long term, production bases should be continuously increased.
If you had to build a factory in Asia, where would it be?
China is excluded due to the establishment of a joint venture and concerns about technology leakage. In Japan, strong players such as Toyota and Honda are holding out, and labor costs are not too high in this country.
“There are also Thailand and Vietnam.”
“The electric vehicle infrastructure there is worse than ours. The domestic market should also be considered.”
I handed the material on the table to Sangyeop senior. It was made by the Seoseong Economic Research Institute and is a comparative analysis of factories in Asian countries.
If only labor costs are considered, it is normal for all factories in the world to be located in China, Africa, and Southeast Asia. However, there are also numerous factories in the United States and Western Europe, where labor costs are high. This is because, besides the labor cost, various other conditions are at work.
Senior Sangyeop looked at the data and said.
“Korea looks the best.”
“It is true if we consider administration, logistics, infrastructure, government support, and FTAs with countries.”
Sangyeop-senpai nodded her head at my words.
“Even if Ronald revises the Korea-US FTA and raises import tariffs on Korean automobiles, it will have nothing to do with Karos.”
“After all, the cars sold in the United States are all made in the United States.”
I kept talking while eating pizza.
“There are many partners with high levels of education, hard work, and excellent technology. Most of all, Seoseong SB and OTK Research Institute are both in Korea.”
“Are high wages and frequent strikes a problem?”
“If only that can be solved, there is no law against the establishment of a new automobile factory in Korea.”
“It’s been about 20 years. Seoseong, of course I’ll do it. Silver car?”
“I’m thinking.”
It’s a pity that it’s a silver charge, not us. If we’re going to hold hands, we should get as many things as we can.
“Is there any way to solve the problem?”
“Look at this.”
I presented another material, and Sangyeop senior looked at it.
“Did you make it yourself?”
“Is it possible?”
I’m not a scholar who won any Nobel Prize in Economics.
But don’t worry. There are many people smarter than me in the world, and if you need to, you can borrow their heads.
Isn’t there a scholar or professor to do this?
“As you know, the Korean manufacturing industry is at risk if it goes like this.”
Korea has grown at such a rapid pace that the word “miracle on the Han River” does not go unnoticed. In particular, the economic growth from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s was phenomenal.
The side effect of rapid growth is the gap between the rich and the poor, but in Korea, the gap between the rich and the poor has narrowed and the middle class has increased. It was the golden age of the Korean economy.
The reason this was possible is that Korea has grown mainly in the manufacturing industry. Factories were constantly running, and jobs were plentiful.
The manufacturing industry is still the backbone of the Korean economy. Otherwise, it may not have been able to overcome the IMF crisis and financial crisis.
“I think the same. The US is reshoring. As factories that went abroad return to their home countries, large Korean companies are only building factories abroad. Only then will there be neither porridge nor rice.”
Senior Sangyeop pointed to the protesters on TV.(Read more @ wuxiax.com)
“But if you say one word, you get up like that. If you do something like this, will the two major trade unions stand still?”
I laughed bitterly.
“Otherwise, tens of thousands of jobs will go to other countries.”
Sangyeop senior nodded his head.
“Actually, there aren’t a few countries that would welcome the establishment of a factory.”
* * *
The Eunseongcha strike has already been over for a fortnight.
Considering the domestic market share of Eunsung Motors, in fact, the entire Korean automobile industry had come to a standstill.
It was not so great to say that it was a reflective profit from other domestic companies. This is because production is limited.
The supplier was on the verge of collapsing, and the local economy faltered.
The opposition and opposition parties with one voice called for quick labor-management negotiations. Lawmakers with factories in the constituency went down to the area to meet the residents or visit Eunseong car to assess.
Union Chairman Joo Seong-moo insisted that there would be no dialogue without an apology from Chairman Han Chan-young, and the management did not express any particular position.
The share price of Eunsung Motor Group continued to decline. The market cap, which once exceeded 200 trillion won, has now shrunk to less than 100 trillion won.
In the business rankings, after SSK group, CL group also fell to fourth place.
If you look at the silver car alone, the current market cap is only 46 trillion won. On the other hand, the Karos, which Eunsung sold at a bargain price, is valued at over $200 billion even though it is an unlisted company.
This will only make shareholders angry.
OTK Company and Golden Gate quietly started to buy Eunsung Motor stock. Hyun-joo’s sister formed a negotiation team and secretly contacted Eun-sung to negotiate various conditions.
Meanwhile, I also met with Chairman Im Jin-yong and experts, and gradually materialized the investment plan. Among those experts were professors from Korea University.
I talked to Professor Myung-Jun Kim on the phone after a long time.
[The whole country is making noise again. Are you really planning to invest in Korea?]“If only I had money.”
[haha! When I saw the money being revealed, I became a real manager.]“Thanks to the professor I learned well.”
[So, why did you contact me this time?]“I would like to meet with the head of the Department of Economics. I have a question for you because of your investment.”
[Professor Semyung Jang?]Professor Semyung Jang served as a professor at the University of Cambridge in England when he was young, and during this time his economics book became a box office hit and gained worldwide fame. After that, he returned to Korea University to teach.
“Yes. Would it be okay?”
Professor Myung-Jun Kim gladly answered.
[Sure. Anyway, Professor Jang also seemed to want to meet him once. It went well.]
