Noblesse oblige(Allianz Korea is on strike for 221 days.)

After firing 5 representatives of branch managers early of March, Allianz Life Korea held the personnel committee at the end of March and dismissed 100 branch managers only because they joined the strike claiming that they were not qualified for union members [deny] They were 40% of total branch managers (285).

The company held a management committee on April 1st and decided the dismissal of 99 branch managers except 7 returned managers since the personnel committee [divide and rule]. The resistance of Union became stronger, 66 dismissed branch managers executed haircutting on April 10th, 21 managers started on fasting.

Union requested continuously to have negotiation of faith and sincerity but the requests were rejected every time [delay]. The strike was going on.

One female union member screamed that the strike from company’s fault caused family breaking : “I am a employee of Allianz Life Korea. I am a mother joining the strike for 91 days. I have 7- year-old daughter and 10- month son. My daughter entered a primary school in this year. When I visited daughter’s school to meet her teacher with absence in strike, I heard the surprised word from the teacher. The teacher of my daughter thought mom was going to divorce.Every morning 70-year-old grandmother brings her to school with my son on her back and the teacher in charge saw it. The teacher asked my daughter that mom was in home, my daughter answered she was in Kangwon-Do and barely came home. … At that moment, I was chocked with the unknown sorrow and helpless tears. Whenever I thought about it, it hurts me and make me cry.”

The person concerned the Allianz Korea said, “ the Union interferes the branch managers returning to office” [distort]. And claimed that the struggle way of union has made the problem of Allianz difficult. (By KANG Phil-Sung 2008.4.29, CFE guest reporter) He said,” After starting the persuasion for branch managers, they started to come back. And union members took them away in local area. The company persuaded 167 branch managers to return to work, 20 managers returned on March 27th. And suddenly, the union went to Mokpo with remained managers. Executives, the vice president and the sales directors visited Mokpo to persuade them, they left to Jeju-Do. Union and branch managers kept avoiding. Even families visited them but they avoided meeting. [divide and rule]

He claimed “ every time conflict happened, the union president did not come to the front and entrusted the matter to Korean Federation of Clerical & Financial Labor Union.” And “ The union draws upper union to our matters” doubted he that upper union made the matters bigger [distort]. He also said,” Seeing the former example of Mirae Asset Life, if the union occupied the head office building, it would go into long-term strike so, the company was compelled to hire the guards to protect the building [deceive, delay].

On April 24th 2008 the secretary-general of EUCCK, Jean-Jacques GRAUHAR sent the letter to the president LEE Myung-Bak, the chairman of the National Competitiveness Council SA Gong-Il, the Parliamentary Chief Secretary PARK Jae-Wan, the Chief Secretary of social policies PARK Mi-Suk and claimed that the strike of Allianz Korea was illegal and asked Government’s aggressive intervention emphasizing on company’s damage (Financial damage and decrease of public image) and expressing regret over Government’s passive action to branch managers illegal strike.[dominate]

Union and the company had the closed negotiation about performance related pay system on April 29th but only confirmed the big different stance of both and finished the meeting without later negotiation plan. [delay] Regarding performance related pay system, the company said,” if the union suggests constructive opinions about the system, the company is ready to accept it after serious discussing” [dominate], the union claimed “ the withdrawal of compulsory implementation of the system in advance”. They cannot find the compromised clues.

600 union members had ‘the proclamation of all-out struggle on May’ with Korean Federation of Clerical & Financial Labor Unions on April 30th at Yeoui-do Hea office building and assembled against the dismissal of branch managers and compulsory implementation of performance related pay. The union sent the expedition to the general meeting of shareholders in German Headquarter scheduled on May 21st.

Union president JE Jong-Kyu and the union member KIM Jae-Suk were arrested on a charge of illegal strike & obstruction of business on May 8th. [dominate]. After that, the company had a management committee about 99 dismissed branch managers’ request of reexamination and relieved 12 branch managers returning to work additionally with mild discipline and confirmed the dismissal of 87 branch managers. Dismissed branch managers became 92. 12 contract employees joining the strike were dismissed too. One union member of strike described his heart about this.

“We are powerless, poor laborers.
But we are not going to blind with dirty money and system,
We never surrender to flagrant foreign capital.
And we will continue our fair struggle until the end. ”