POSCO enters state of emergency as workers barricade head office

South Korean steel giant POSCO said Monday it will resort to emergency management measures as a violent labor dispute continues to damage its operations.

The announcement came after 2,000 workers from several small builders subcontracted to POSCO on Sunday remained holed up inside the steelmaker's 12-story office in Pohang, an industrial town on South Korea's southeast coast.

The workers forced their way into the building on Thursday, protesting against what they called POSCO's illegal involvement in their labor action against their companies. They accused POSCO of providing substitute workers to weaken their bargaining position.

POSCO denied the charges.

At Sunday's clash with police, at least 30 people were injured, one of them seriously.

POSCO said actions by the striking workers, whom it does not hire directly, has not seriously affected the running of the company so far because POSCO workers were generally off duty from Saturday through Monday, which is a national holiday.

The company, however, said administrative and management work could be disrupted from Tuesday, when its employees come to work.

It added that because of the space taken over by the striking workers, the company will regulate the work schedules so about 70 percent of its 447 people at company headquarters in Pohang actually come to the office at any given day.

"The rest will be advised to go on vacation, sign up for vocational training sessions or work at home," said a spokesman.

He said that for critical functions, office space will be made from space at the company's in-house research and development institute, training academy and its public tour center.

The largest steelmaker in South Korea, meanwhile, claimed the strike has resulted in damage equivalent to 10 billion won per day.

It has asked police to remove the workers, but admitted that the strike could be a long-drawn-out affair since the construction workers are threatening to put up stiff resistance.

Pohang police said it has cut off basic utilities to the upper stories of the POSCO building and will not allow the workers access to food.

Pohang, July 17 (Yonhap News)