Making Organization with hope and joy


Seoul Women's Trade Union (SWTU) was officially launched on Jan. 10, 1999, with its registering to Seoul City Government after holding the inauguration meeting.

February 1998, 15 women labor activists and women workers mostly employed at small businesses had its first meeting to seek ways of forming women's trade union, the first of its kind in Korea. At the meeting the women activists and workers unanimously reached to the conclusion that women's trade union was the only feasible answer to ending patriarchal environment, prevalent at existing labor unions and major cause for low unionization of women workers in Korea. (as of December 1997, 5.6 percent)

Since most of the 15 women at the meeting were small-business employees or temporary employees, we easily agreed to the urgent and pressing needs for forming a women's trade union in Korea. The only problem, if any, seemed that since few of us had enough experiences of launching labor unions, we had to start from scratch.

We began with going through basic issues on labor movements in Korea: Existing situations and problems at corporate labor unions and industry-wide and region-wide labor organizations in Korea. Then we moved to fact-finding research on desperate situation of Korean women workers and women in general. Along with it, we discussed ways to strengthen women workers' unity in Korea. Several successful stories of forming women workers' organization were also reviewed. By July 1998, we wrapped up research and studies on basic issues on labor and women's movements with reviewing newly revised Korean labor laws.

Discriminations and problems we found out through our basic research and studies were also what we had experienced or were facing at our workplace. And during the same period, one member of us were forced to leave her job for being married and were fighting for abolishing the wrong practice at the workplace. This meant that everything we studied had to be put into action immediately.

July 1998, we invited a women labor activist who had experiences of launching a trade union during her over 20-year working experiences. Listening her experiences as a woman activist, we were encouraged greatly and realized how much it was urgent and important to launch women's trade union in Korea.
Initially we set the date for launching of SWTU as sometimes in October, the month of equal employment.

In August 1998, we started fact-finding survey and interviews on several region-level trade unions in Korea. We conducted interviews on the Trade Union of Daily-based Wage Earners at the Construction Site, the Labor Union of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, the Trade Union of Press Workers, Seoul Regional Apparel Workers' Trade Union and the Cobblers' Trade Union. Through the interviews, we found out that how committed they were to fighting for improving overall working environments despite their desperate situations. Since we had to keep the forming of SWTU a secret At the time of the interviews, we didn't have any opportunity to express our appreciation to their cooperation to our interviews. Though it seems a little bit late we would like to express our thankfulness to them now.

In August 1998, the SWTU inauguration members had "My experiences at the workplace" meeting, at which several members working at small businesses shared their experiences at the workplace with the rest of the members. The meeting was designed to broaden understanding on specific problems women workers have to go through at the workplace.

In September, we set about preparation for launching SWTU. "Making trade union giving hope and joy," a workshop we had in September, provided an opportunity for us to think about our mission and ways to achieve our dreams. In the workshop, we talked about what should be done to reform the existing labor-related organizations and then we moved to discuss forming an alternative labor organization which can give hope and joy to woman workers. The conclusion reached after the overnight heated discussion was forming a trade union that could liberate women workers from inhumane working conditions. We also pledged to ourselves to make the SWTU as a place where its members' voices are heard clear and loud, where its members' activities are most important and where its members' dreams and happiness are highly valued --- a truly liberated place for Korean women workers.
However in October we hit the snag ---- financial difficulties --- and were forced to delay launching of SWTU. Though we were cash-strapped, for making SWTU an independent union we made it a rule to turn down government- or corporate -related financial assistance. This strict rule made our inauguration process delayed with lack of cash but we believed that it was the only surest way of forming an truly independent trade union in Korea.

In November, though we still had to have meetings at our members' home, we were busy making SWTU's bylaws and organizing working teams; public relations, research, out-reaching and education teams. We also finalized SWTU's plans of action.

In January 1999, with financial help from more than 200 donors, we finally succeeded in having a small office in Churngjong-ro, downtown in Seoul. Half of the donors were male workers, who assisted us from their small salary without any hesitance. Now we would like to express our appreciation to them with deep bow.