PYEONGTAEK, March 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Comparing themselves to working cows, 150 fired employees of Ssangyong Motor and civic group members in the city of Pyeongtaek pushed and pulled ten of the South Korean automaker’s vehicles on the road as part of a rally calling for the reinstatement of fired workers.
The rally, which consisted of a 2km march to the gates of Ssangyong Motor’s Pyeongtaek plant, was christened by the participants as “The Clanging Cowbell of the Fired”.
The organizers explained that the meaning behind the name was the difficult times the fired workers had labored for their employer like a cow or bull would do for its owner.
The first car had a sign reading “2009” placed on the windshield as a reference to the mass firings that occurred in that year. In order from first to last, each car had a sign with the year inscribed on it from 2009 to 2018.
There are reportedly 37 fired employees who have been reinstated, and 130 still waiting for a return to Ssangyong Motor.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)