신자유주의 구조조정과 정리해고자 복직을 전후로 한 작업장 동학: 한국지엠(구 대우자동차) 사례를 중심으로

This paper explores the micro-foundations of workplace dynamics afterthe restructuring of Daewoo Motors through workers' lived experiencesunder IMF regulations after the 1997 Korean economic crisis. Intensiveinterviews with workers and the internal materials from the labor unionwere used to reconstruct workers' lived experiences in the workplace. Therestructuring of Daewoo Motors had accompanied by massive dismissal,the phased reinstatement for all laid-off workers, and overseas sales. Different tension and fissures among workers had appeared as restructuringhas proceeded. Internal fissures among workers and changes of theirattitudes in the process of the restructuring laid the micro-foundations forthe dynamics of in the workplace. The reinstated workers established theirown organization of struggling for the restoration of their previous positionsbefore dismissal, the reinstatement of the workers not rehired yet, and therevitalization of shop floor. The management made an attempt to weakenworkers’ grip in the workplace by dividing workers between thereinstated workers and workers who worked continuously and controllingthem. And the labor union made a concession bargaining including therevision of the collective agreement and an approval of employment ofnon-regular workers in return for the stability of union organization underthe pressure of cooperative industrial relations. This paper shows that thegovernment and the company were able to exercise their control overworkers' resistance through internal fissures among the organized regular workers in the process of neoliberal restructuring, thereby undermining the labor union and upholding flexible employment.