(The following article is from the January 1-31, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

By Sean Burton, from South Korea

The threat to the working class around the world is most pronounced in this time of capitalist crisis. But the capitalist system is, by its very nature, based on exploitation for profit. Regardless of the difficult situation the world's economic powers find themselves in, the majority of people have always been getting screwed over. One need only look at the massive job losses in the manufacturing industries of Canada and the U.S. over the last five years to see that.

     Exacerbating matters is the fact that many capitalist countries are dominated by neo-conservative and neo-liberal economic policies. South Korea is one such country. Long a bastion of capitalism opposed to the socialist-oriented North, South Korea's right-wing government is eagerly embracing an increasingly rotten economic order.

     The privatization of state-run services is a high priority for the government led by President Lee Myun Bak and his Grand National Party. One immediate target is the public rail service provider, KORAIL. Ten percent of the workforce (about 4,000 workers) would lose their jobs in the next four years under the current plan, and some offices and train stations would be privatized. In mid-November, unionized KORAIL employees decided to strike in protest of the upcoming layoffs, and to demand the reinstatement of 47 workers fired for participating in a strike in 2003.

     KORAIL issued a warning that it would resist the strike in the name of "law and order". Naturally, the company referred to its plans as "a more flexible and effective operation scheme for its workers", in the words of KORAIL's vice-president, Shim Heok Yoon. Of course such language translates into "a smaller, cheaper, and profit-oriented operation". Furthermore, the company's president was recently arrested on bribery charges; why should the workers have faith in the words of these managers?

     The current global capitalist crisis is being used as an excuse by KORAIL's executives. Vice-president Shim essentially stated that the workers' concerns should not matter in these difficult economic times. What matters, apparently, is "gaining the public's trust as a public entity".

     That sounds suspiciously like an argument for "essential services", an issue that decided the fate of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) strike in 2007. Ontario's main political parties all decided that the workers are not what matters, but rather the convenience (or, as we are led to believe, "need") of the "public".

     KORAIL prepared an "alternative workforce" to replace strikers. This workforce amounts to less than half of the total number of workers. South Korean labour regulations require a minimum workforce in the event of a strike. What are such regulations but attacks on workers' rights? After all, they serve to prevent strikes from being successful. Certainly, South Korean industries stand to lose out when they cannot ship their goods via train. That, apparently, is what matters in terms of "law and order", as opposed to social justice.

     Lee Myun Bak has been using the same langauge, stating on Nov. 18 that he wants "labour, management and government to cooperate closely, as law and order is what keeps our society running. Labour relations must rise to the level of an advanced country."

     Government branches took steps to crack down on what they called an "illegal strike." It is perhaps fitting that Lee made these comments while he was in South American for the APEC conference, yet another vehicle for imperialism. There, Lee made it clear that economies should "roll on their own". This can only mean that more danger awaits South Korean workers.

     The KORAIL strike has not occurred. Seoul's subway union, which supported KORAIL's strike vote, reached an agreement with the government, leading the larger union to rethink its strategy. It remains to be seen how good of a deal can be made with Lee Myun Bak.

     Meanwhile, the government is pursuing a number of free trade deals, including with the US. The opposition Democratic Party is strongly opposed to these deals unless measures are taken to protect South Korean farmers and other people expected to suffer from an increase in American imports. The Lee government has been forcing its legislation through with little concern for its opponents, and the bill for the trade deal was no exception.

     Members of Lee's Grand National Party locked themselves in with the parliamentary committee for trade hours before opposition members arrived. Opposition politicians attempted to force their way in, fighting GNP security guards, and using sledgehammers to beat down the doors, only to find a wall of furniture blocking to way to the chamber. This shameless violation of democratic procedure led opposition parties to demand that the GNP apologize to the nation.

     I will end on a historical, and perhaps sentimental note. The unrest among the railway workers reminds me of an event not commonly talked about. A People's Republic of Korea was established at the end of the Japanese occupation of Korea in 1945, only to be banned by the US Army Military Government in Korea for its presumed socialist orientation. This, as well as the banning of strikes and revolutionary people's committees, led to considerable unrest. In the city of Busan, which I have called home for the last few months, over eight thousand railway workers broke the strike ban in September 1946. Strikes spread throughout the country, and when a number of student demonstrators were killed, the civilian population violently attacked the police, landlords and pro-Japanese officials. Many more people were killed by US military units once martial law was declared. This episode flies in the face of South Korean conservatives, who are trying to change the "leftist" history books. Similar violence is not likely at present, but given the widespread disgust for Lee Myun Bak, the demonstrations could grow large and threatening indeed.