CINA

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Yesterday afternoon in downtown Seoul: About 200 activists of several migrant workers organisations(incl. MTU) and their Korean supporters celebrated the Int'l Migrants Day (buy the way: during the rally the representative of KCTU appealed for a "collective struggle against capitalism"...). Here just some impressions from yesterday's event:
 

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Enclosure: In commemoration of International Migrants Day 2011 we, migrant workers in South Korea, make the following declaration:

 
WE ARE WORKERS, NOT SLAVES!

WE DEMAND FULL RESPECT FOR OUR HUMAN AND LABOR RIGHTS!

 
We have been forced to seek work outside of our home countries because of poverty, unemployment, political oppression and the failure of home governments to provide adequate support systems.

 
In South Korea, we work in small and medium-scale businesses, playing an important role the Korean economy. Yet we are unrecognized and neglected by Korean society. We face discrimination, physical and sexual violence and daily violations of our labor rights. These experiences have made us aware of the unjust nature of the Korean foreign labor system, which is enforced with cooperation from sending countries. They have also strengthened our determination to fight for rights.

 
The South Korean government’s foreign labor policy is aimed at reducing labor costs, increasing profitability and protecting the interests of businesses. The restrictions in the Employment Permit System and the Visit Work System enslave migrant workers to their employers, allowing greater exploitation. The result is forced overtime, unpaid wages, lack of vacation time and other abuses. Migrants’ rights as workers go ignored and unprotected.   

 
Since the 1980s undocumented migrant workers have contributed to South Korea’s economic growth, but they continue to be hunted down like criminals. They are exploited in the workplace and made into scapegoats for Korea’s social and economic problems. They continue to be arrested and deported or killed in crackdowns.

 
Women migrants continue to be trafficked, either as workers or as spouses for Korean men. They continue to be subjected to psychological, physical and sexual violence. Migrant children lack social protection. The children of undocumented migrants suffer in particular, lacking a sense of identity or nationality.

 
21 years ago today, the United Nations adopted the ‘International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.’ The Convention sets the minimum standards for the protection of the rights of migrant workers. The South Korean government boasts of its multiculturalism and ‘advanced’ foreign labor policies. Yet it has failed to ratify the Convention or meet the standards contained in it. 

 
Migrant workers, like the Korean working class, are part of the 99%. Our labor is used to create wealth for the 1% through laws that restrict our rights and give greater freedom of businesses to exploit us. In our home countries, Korean investors take advantage of lower labor standards and shamelessly exploit workers creating despair, not decent jobs. The granting of more freedom to business and less rights to workers is part of the ‘neoliberal agenda’, which has led to rising inequality around the world.

Across the globe, people are fighting to replace a political and economic system that put profits before people with one that respects the human and labor rights of all. The demands we make on the South Korean government and our efforts to achieve them are part of this global struggle.

We make the following demands on the Korean government:

1.Uphold migrant workers' basic labor rights and recognize MTU's legal union status!
2.Stop labor exploitation and repression of migrant workers!
3.Stop the crackdown and legalize undocumented migrant workers!
4.Fully uphold the Labor Standards Act for migrant workers!
5.Change the EPS into a work permit system and allow long-term residence for migrant workers!
6.Implement stronger penalties for abusive employers!
7.Ensure free and comprehensive labor rights education and legal support for migrant workers!
8.Uphold the rights of refugees, marriage migrants and all other migrants!
9.Ratify the International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families!