Workers of South Korea’s Yura Corporation Plant in Serbia Start General Strike

Yura factory (BETAPHOTO/Sasa Djordjevic)

Workers of South Korea’s Yura Corporation plant in Leskovac began a general strike in the morning on June 11, while labor union activists point to the significantly fewer number of those striking outside the plant compared to their numbers at previous protests which, they say, is due to workplace intimidation. 

Predrag Stojanovic, the president of the factory’s Independent union of metalworkers, has said that some 800 union members have been threatened with reassignments and cancelation of their bonuses. The union members had been summoned by the management and demanded to leave the union, which was against the law, he said, adding that this practice had been applied in the past. 

Stojanovic stressed that an intervention of the state was required, recalling that the Yura factory in Leskovac had received state subsidies for encouraging hiring, while the workers had been inadequately paid. Today, the Yura plant employs around 3,100 people compared to the pre-pandemic workforce of 5,000. 

Zeljko Veselinovic, the Concord Trade Union president, has said this is not the first time Yura has come in the spotlight for violating fundamental labor rights and human dignity. He recalled that since its establishment in Serbia, the company had suppressed any form of social dialogue and had acted against the law and the Constitution, while among the first to be fired were trade unions leaders and activists who had been pointing to poor working conditions. 

In a statement, the Concord Trade Union recalled the previous incidents, including media reports from 2016 that the workers had been wearing diapers as they had not been allowed to use the toilets, and the 2020 reports of Yura’s inhumane treatment of workers who had contracted coronavirus.