Victory of Union Members’ Fight for Job
Security, the Workers at Hospital Cafeteria

KHMU members who are hashers and cooks
working in the cafeteria of Dong Kang Hospital had been fighting for job
security and finally won a victory. On January 1^st, 2021, the
hospital management signed an outsourcing contract with a new supplier (Dongwon
Home Food), but this supplier terminated the employment contract with all
existing hashers and cooks and replaced the vacancy with others dispatched from
a job placement agency.

Subsequently, the workers became
jobless overnight, some of whom have been working for Dong Kang for over two
decades.

Dong Kang Hospital has outsourced food
services to contractors for 30 years now since 1994. In the past, even when the
contractor was changed, existing workers remained. But, this time, despite the
hospital’s custom, the new contractor fired all, highly likely because workers
formed a sub-branch of the KHMU last year. Hence, the workers blamed the
contractor for it.

In addition, the KHMU presumes that
they did all to save labor cost and possibly the quality of food supplies would
become lower, doing harm to workers and patients at the hospital. Those fired
workers continued struggling for a month without a hair out of place. Every day
and night, they were picketing the hospital, CEO’s house and on the
street. 

All KHMU members
(78,000) also joined the fight in solidarity. Some donated while others posted
photos of cheers to protestors. Non-cafeteria workers at Dong Kang also made an
anonymous donation. After all this effort and solidarity, on January 30, the
KHMU, Dong Kang Hospital management, Dongwon Home Food and the mediator Ulsan
office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor met and reached an agreement,
under which all 16 union members at the cafeteria of Dong Kang Hospital should
be rehired through steps. In addition, Dong Kang Hospital management promised
that they would try its utmost to ensure