Workers at North Korea’s Hyesan Youth Copper Mine have pushed back against orders to intensify mandatory criticism sessions, according to a source in Ryanggang province recently.
The mine’s elementary party committee recently ordered affiliated workers’ groups, including the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea (GFTUK), to strengthen their regular “struggle sessions” by requiring mutual criticism among workers.
These struggle sessions, a common practice in North Korea, typically involve workers criticizing their own behavior and work attitudes. The new order would require workers to openly criticize their colleagues as well, effectively turning them into workplace monitors.
On Oct. 26, the mine’s GFTUK committee head ordered members to increase attendance at Saturday struggle sessions and implement the mutual criticism requirement. The workers responded with passive resistance – each of the roughly 10 attendees only criticized themselves before sitting down, refusing to criticize others.
Workers challenged the order, pointing to absent “8.3 workers” – those who pay fees to skip work. “Some don’t show up even once a year,” the source said, noting that these paid absences breed resentment among regular workers. The workers said they would only engage in the sessions when “100%” of the workers attend them.
The confrontation escalated when workers criticized the committee head for not requiring 8.3 workers to attend the sessions. Unable to respond, the committee head left the scene.
While the incident was reported to the mine’s party committee, they quietly dismissed it as the committee head’s incompetence. The party committee’s hands were tied – they couldn’t discipline the rebellious workers without addressing the 8.3 worker issue, which they themselves had enabled by accepting payments for absences.
“People can’t make a living, and they’re edgy, so they don’t follow the party’s orders to the letter anymore,” the source said.
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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November 05, 2024 at 12:00PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)