[Photo] FineTek smokestack sit-in reaches 408th day for 2nd time on Christmas Eve

Two of the five members of the FineTek (a subsidiary of Starflex) chapter of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union are continuing their aerial sit-in demonstration against the company’s unjust termination of workers on top of a smokestack. The sit-in has been going on since Nov. 12, 2017, when Hong Gi-tak, a former worker at FineTek and former leader of the union chapter, and secretary-general Park Jun-ho began their “smokestack sit-in” at a combined heat and power plant in Seoul, calling for the company to keep its promise regarding a collective agreement and keeping workers on the payroll. As of Dec. 24, the sit-in has been going on for 408 days. Prior to the current sit-in, workers held an initial sit-in on top of the smokestack that lasted for 408 days from May 27, 2014, to July 8, 2015. The first sit-in concluded with an agreement to reinstate workers, but when Starflex reneged on its promise, workers embarked on another sit-in.