Employees at North Korea’s Hyesan Youth Copper Mine have pushed again towards orders to accentuate obligatory criticism periods, in accordance with a supply in Ryanggang province lately.
The mine’s elementary get together committee lately ordered affiliated staff’ teams, together with the Basic Federation of Commerce Unions of Korea (GFTUK), to strengthen their common “battle periods” by requiring mutual criticism amongst staff.
These battle periods, a standard apply in North Korea, usually contain staff criticizing their very own conduct and work attitudes. The brand new order would require staff to overtly criticize their colleagues as nicely, successfully turning them into office screens.
On Oct. 26, the mine’s GFTUK committee head ordered members to extend attendance at Saturday battle periods and implement the mutual criticism requirement. The employees responded with passive resistance – every of the roughly 10 attendees solely criticized themselves earlier than sitting down, refusing to criticize others.
Employees challenged the order, pointing to absent “8.3 staff” – those that pay charges to skip work. “Some don’t present up even annually,” the supply stated, noting that these paid absences breed resentment amongst common staff. The employees stated they’d solely have interaction within the periods when “100%” of the employees attend them.
The confrontation escalated when staff criticized the committee head for not requiring 8.3 staff to attend the periods. Unable to reply, the committee head left the scene.
Whereas the incident was reported to the mine’s get together committee, they quietly dismissed it because the committee head’s incompetence. The get together committee’s palms had been tied – they couldn’t self-discipline the rebellious staff with out addressing the 8.3 employee challenge, which they themselves had enabled by accepting funds for absences.
“Individuals can’t make a residing, and so they’re edgy, in order that they don’t observe the get together’s orders to the letter anymore,” the supply stated.
Every day NK works with a community of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For safety causes, their identities stay nameless.
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