Korea: Baskin Robbins strike for permanent jobs enters 84th day

When Baskin Robbins opened its ice cream plant in Eumsung in 1993 workers were employed on permanent contracts but in 2001 they were outsourced, forcibly transferred to an in-house contractor SeoHee Industrial doing the same jobs.

After forming a union in 2010 workers demanded a return to direct permanent employment.

On April 18, 2012, an agreement for permanent jobs was reached. Over the next 10 days Baskin Robbins Korea violated the agreement, outsourcing production and declaring a 5-year delay to direct permanent employment.

On May 9 the union responded with strike action that continues to this day.

Recent outsourcing and the use of replacement workers has led to serious food safety problems.  In July local media reported that high levels of bacteria was found in ice cream products made by companies producing Baskin Robbins ice cream while staff working at the company’s own outlets complained of a drop in standards.