An ex-Samsung worker mounted a year-long protest to fight for the right to unionise
An ex-Samsung worker in Korea climbed and stayed at the top of a traffic surveillance tower for over one year to protest the company’s alleged anti-union practices.
The tower protest ended last week after the company issued an apology and made an undisclosed settlement. In a statement, the tech giant apologised for “failing to promptly solve the issue”.
According to news reports, Kim Yong-hee stayed atop the 25m tower for 354 days and relied on supporters to bring him meals and supplies. He said he suffered from panic attacks as he pushed himself to remain on the small platform to advocate for employees’ rights.
Kim’s motivation for the headlining event was sparked after his dismissal over 25 years ago under a former subsidiary, Samsung Techwin. He claimed that he was fired after attempting to establish a trade union, reported South China Morning Post.
He ran a 24-year long campaign to get his job back, before climbing the tower in June 2019 to air his grievances.
The post reported that Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman at Samsung Electronics, promised that in future, the firm would recognise employees’ rights to unionise.
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In Singapore, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) states that employers cannot prevent workers from joining a trade union. Also, employers cannot prevent staff from participating in union activities or associating with union members.
However, according to the Industrial Relations Act, employers can prevent specific employees from being represented by unions, such as those in senior management roles.
Singapore’s ‘unique’ brand of unionisation
Although unions in Singapore serve the basic purpose as middleman between workers and employers, they work in a more regulated environment when it comes to negotiating for employees’ rights.
The Act exists to regulate the function of unions and they can only represent their members in collective bargaining if they’re recognised by the employer.
Unions in Singapore also typically work with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), who hold a promise to be “both pro-worker and pro-business” and stands by the call that “every worker matters”.
Additionally, government advisory dictates that employers and unions must work alongside several principles, including ‘collaboration not confrontation’, and working towards a shared, common goal to formulate win-win solutions that place long-term gains above short-term ones.
Unions and management are urged to work together “towards a harmonious workplace environment, strengthen tripartite collaboration, and enhance Singapore’s overall competitiveness for economic growth”.
At an event commemorating the NTUC’s 50th anniversary last year, several unionists spoke about Singapore’s “unique” brand of unionisation.
President Halimah Yacob, a former union leader, shared the history behind the shift from confrontational to cooperative. She said it was a “momentous” decision that ensured the labour movement here operated in a “unique and special” way that redefined “what workers’ protection means in a more holistic manner beyond just collective bargaining”.
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Labour chief Ng Chee Meng had also explained Singapore’s tripartism – collaboration between government, employers and unions – but admitted that the movement needed to “modernise or die” to effectively represent today’s multi-generational workforce and their different needs.
“How we continue to stay relevant and representative of workers cannot lose pace,” he said.
“If you see the things that are happening around us, in our neighbourhood, in Hong Kong... and even in Europe today, you’ll see that if we do not continue on a collaborative approach in labour management relations, what can happen.” Ng had referred to the mass frustration felt in those places.
Fast forward to today’s crisis, the manpower ministry constantly reminds employers to work with employee unions when managing retrenchments, cost-cutting measures, as well as planning a safe return to work.
