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| NORTH KOREA STRENGTHENS LABOR DISCIPLINE FOR THE 150-DAY BATTLE |
| Posted Date : 2009-07-20 (NK Brief No. 09-7-20-1) |
North Korean Labor V4ice-minister Kim Hyeong Jo has emphasized that the “revolutionary labor spirit” will be further emphasized in order to ensure the success of the ‘150-day Battle’ to rebuild the economy, which got underway on April 20. According to the article “Establishing a Revolutionary Labor Spirit Guarantees Success of the 150-day Battle,” which ran in the June 24 edition of the DPRK Cabinet mouthpiece, the Minju Choson, Vice-minister Kim called for strengthening discipline and ideological education of the masses, as well as strictly controlling labor sites.
The article quoted Kim as stating, “The most important thing in establishing the revolutionary labor spirit is firmly establishing Juche’s perspective on labor,” and in order to do so, to instill “a deep understanding of the meaning and goals of socialist labor,” to include a “sense of honor and responsibility regarding one’s job.” Furthermore, the vice-minister ordered labor training to be carried out, “closely linking education on devotion, collectivism, and socialist patriotism.”
He also called for labor to be carried out in strict accordance with regulations, observing an 8-hour workday and strengthening enforcement of regulations regarding the start and finish of the workday and shift schedules. On July 4, the Choson Sinbo, a newspaper distributed by the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, introduced the new campaign, reporting that since the launch of the ‘150-day Battle’, women laborers in a clothing factory in Pyongyang begin work at 6 a.m. every morning, working busily all day long.
The paper reported that these women had previously reported for work at 8 a.m., but “now everyone that must gather at 6 o’clock does so,” and since the launch of the ‘150-day Battle’, “the amount of work has grown tremendously, but no one leaves the workplace until the daily quota has been met.”
These workers all live within 1~2 Kilometers of the factory, but since the ‘150-day Battle’ got underway, “there is almost no harmonious time spent with family in their nearby homes,” and, “During the 150-day battle, meals for the laborers working in the factory are sent by their families…at dinner time, there are many cases of husbands being tasked with errands.” The paper also stressed, however, that these new schedules were not imposed on the women; these women reportedly worked extra hours and spent time away from family of their own free will.
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