car industry
Leaflet: The struggle in Nošovice was started by workers. It belongs to them!
Today we distributed a leaflet in front of the Hyundai factory in Nošovice, where there was a wildcat strike recently (check out this article by the Slovak IWA section, Priama akcia, for more information). This is a rough English translation of the text.
First things first: we don't work at Nošovice. We are a workers' group though, we support workers who refuse to be pushed around, we are following the situation in car industry in the Czech Republic, we know the experience of workers involved in struggles in Italian or French car factories, we have contacts with auto workers in Korea.
Ssangyong occupation has ended: August 6, 2009
Once the fierce fighting ended yesterday (August 5, 2009), 100 strikers left the occupation throughout the night (many out of disgust at the ruthlessness of the state and company's violence). At the end of the negotiations last week, management's last offer was 60% of the workers would accept voluntary retirement (or termination) with 40% taking an unpaid furlough until they're called back. Negotiations began today at 11:00 a.m., with the union now agreeing to retirement for 52%, with 48% for the furlough. The strike is over and the occupiers will leave the factory any minute.
***Update August 6, 2009: the strike & occupation has come to an end on its 77th day***
It ended at 2:50 p.m. Korea time (30 minutes ago).
Ssangyong occupation update: August 5, 2009
The final battle will come shortly. Serious injuries occurred today. The only remaining occupied factory building is the paint department, with about 500 strikers defending it. The cops have taken control of all the rest of the surrounding buildings. The crackdown on the strikers has been extremely brutal.
***Update August 5, 2009 4:30 p.m. (Korea time)***
Condition of workers mentioned in previous thread: one fell going from roof to roof and broke his vertebrae, as well as head injuries. Serious, but not life-threatening. 2 others fell from roof, but injuries were not as serious. But 30 others, on both sides, were injured and needed medical attention.
Ssangyong occupation update: August 4 (Korea time), 2009
***Real Time Update***
Right now a special division of 2,500 police are engaged in an assault on the occupied factory. The cops have removed most barricades and are using aerial ladders to attempt to reach the fortified roof positions of the strikers. 3 helicopters are supporting the cop attack. Hand-to-hand battles are presently occurring and the strikers are fighting back with molotov cocktails. Due to the intensity of the fighting, there will probably be many casualties -- and possibly fatalities.
***Real Time Update (August 4, 2009; 1:30 p.m. Korea time)***
Ssangyong occupation update: August 2, 2009
Talks between management and striking workers who've been occupying the factory have broken down. Electricity has also been turned off, in addition to water which was cut off two weeks ago.
From the Korea Times (with an obvious pro-company bias):
08-02-2009 18:15
Ssangyong Faces Liquidation After Labor Talks Fail
By Kim Rahn, Park Si-soo
Staff Reporters
Troubled Ssangyong Motor faces liquidation after last-ditch negotiations between management and union members representing laid-off workers collapsed Sunday.
Ssangyong occupation update: day eleven, July 30, 2009
Negotiations have occurred several times throughout the day. The major hurdle is layoffs: management says they're necessary; strikers won't budge and demand that no one be laid off, even if it requires less hours for everyone and work furloughs. For the government and management it is crucial to break the strike so that austerity can be imposed on other autoworkers, as well as in other sectors needing restructuring due to the crisis. The biggest creditor of Ssangyong is Sanup Bank(Korean Development Bank), which is government owned.
***Update July 30, 2009***
Ssangyong occupation update: day ten, July 29, 2009
July 29, 2009 is day 10 (corrected: the police assault began July 20). Medical workers and other community solidarity supporters attempted to deliver water to the factory in the morning. In the afternoon KCTU organized a rally of 3,000, only to have it attacked by as many as 10 helicopters dropping bags of toxic tear gas, in addition to 500 riot cops attacking the demonstrators and watercanon trucks spraying teargas on them.
***Update July 29, 2009***
Continued police presence around Ssangyong factory: 
***Morning hours***
Ssangyong occupation update: day nine, July 28, 2009
Yesterday (Monday, July 27, 2009) evening at 6:30, taking 40 minutes, around 3,000 police (out of a total of 9,000 cops surrounding the factory) and the fire department conducted a coordinated drill to simulate a "safe" retaking of the factory. But in the process, cops inched closer to the factory, securing positions within 30 meters of the paint department. A SWAT team of 50 cops also participated.
***Update Tuesday, July 28, 2009***
The latest report from strike supporters say there are 785 workers in the factory, made up of both those regular workers who are being laid off as well as casualized workers who joined the struggle in solidarity.
Ssangyong occupation update: days seven/eight, July 26-27, 2009
The police are closing in on the paint department, but the strikers occupying the factory are not backing down. They broadcast their determination to "fight to the death" over loudspeakers from the paint department roof, only to have the cop helicopters immediately resume the bombardment with bags of a toxic teargas mixture.
The map below shows that as of Monday at 1:00 p.m. the cops have fought their way even closer to occupied paint department (at bottom center with the number 2): 
***Sunday, July 26, 2009***
Workers holed up in the factory: 
Ssangyong occupation update: day six, July 25, 2009
Brief update: management failed to show up for the tripartite meeting today (Saturday, July 24, 2009), saying "Talks would be meaningless unless violent acts are halted." The hypocrisy is made clear by non-stop attack of helicopters dropping toxic liquid teargas on the strikers. In Pyeongtaek a solidarity rally took place today, with pitched street battle between demonstrators and riot cops. More details coming soon.
Photos of today's rally:
