Park Jong-seok Demands Hitachi Take Responsibility as Nuclear Reactor Manufacturer

A rally to protest against the restarts of idle nuclear reactors In Japan and the exports of nuclear power plants was held in Tokyo on August 5, where Park Jong-seok (photo), an ethnic Korean worker of Hitachi Ltd., demanded his own employer take responsibility for the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant as one of the manufacturers of the reactors there. "Tepco, the operator of the plant, is not the only company that should be held responsible for the disaster. Should we not accuse reactor manufacturers for their social and moral responsibilities as well? Hitachi, the company that I work for, is about to export nuclear plants to Lithuania, appealing that they aspire to becoming a provider of 'safer nuclear energy' for the world. Mitsubishi and Toshiba are also proceeding with plans to export their reactors to India, Viet Nam, Middle East and Eastern Europe. At the Fukushima Daiichi plant, workers, mostly employed by subcontractors at the bottom of the pyramid of multi-layered subcontracting system, are risking their lives in the containment project of the crippled reactors, by being exposed to high level of radioactivity daily. Hitachi and Toshiba are making huge profits with the containment project, adding to their already large earnings. Workers at Hitachi are obedient followers of the logic of capitalism, simply performing the requirements given by their supervisors. Talking about 'the nuclear accident' is considered to be a taboo: Nobody mentions it. There is no democracy in the in-house union there where the candidates for the leaders election are not in fact interested in union activities, unable therefore to show visions or plans for union activities to fellow members. Only the names and divisions of candidates are posted in the election campaign. They do not demand the top management take responsibility for the disaster," reported Park.

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朴鐘碩さん 原発メーカー日立の責任を問う～8.5「原発の再稼働・輸出に抗する集会」

原発事故の責任が問われているのは、東京電力だけではない。原発メーカーの社会的・道義的責任も、問われるべきではないのか。私が勤務する日立は、「より安全な原子力を世界に」といい、リトアニアに原発輸出をしようとしている。三菱・東芝もインド、べトナム、中東、東欧に輸出する計画だ。事故現場では、末端の下請会社の原発労働者が被曝しながら収束工事に携わっている。日立・東芝は、この工事でも莫大な利益を得ている。日立の労働者は、資本の論理に従い、黙って上司から課せられたノルマを遂行するだけ。「原発事故」について語ることはタブーとなって、誰もが口を閉ざす。民主主義が存在しない企業社会で組合役員選挙が実施される。普段組合活動に関心もない、所信表明もなく、ものを言わない組合員が立候補させられている。職場と候補者名だけが掲示され、候補者は、経営者(幹部)に原発事故の責任は問わない。
＊写真＝報告する朴鐘碩さん