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Last Monday(9.16), ITUC, KCTU and FKTU had a press conference to urge the South Korean government to respect the International Labour Standards, on occasion of the Korea-EU FTA Civil Society Forum, held on September 13 in Seoul. The Korea EU FTA. The FTA stipulates that the Parties commit to respecting, promoting and realising the principles related to the fundamental labour rights, and and make continuous efforts towards ratifying ILO core conventions. However, the reality the Korean Workers are facing is far from this...

ITUC press release:

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is deeply concerned with and strongly denounces the serious violations of human and trade union rights in South Korea. As the International Labour Organization, the UN body charged with promoting rights at work, has repeatedly observed over many years, Korean labour law is well out of compliance with minimum international standards related to freedom of association, the right to strike, collective bargaining and non-discrimination. Further, as we have learned after interviewing workers throughout the country in the last few days, the government has done little to enforce even these sub-standard laws, allowing employers to continue to violate workers’ rights with near total impunity. And, when workers vindicate their rights through a hostile court system, these decisions are rarely enforced. In some cases, we have learned, the government has even colluded with employers to facilitate labour violations. This must end. Korea must immediately ratify all of the core ILO conventions and ensure that they are respected in law and in practice.

 
Of particular concern is the plight of irregular workers. We have talked to workers in many industries, from auto assembly and auto parts, shipbuilding and cable installation, who explained how their employers engage in illegal dispatch disguised as subcontracting. Employers, in an effort to cut costs and avoid any legal responsibility, hire workers indirectly through sham companies who do nothing more than supply labour to the primary employer. These workers do the same work as regular workers but often at half the wages, with no benefits and no security.

Fearing loss of employment, these workers fear speaking out against abuses and hazards at work. And, even though a worker at Hyundai Motors won an historic final decision before the Supreme Court of Korea recognizing that he should be a regular worker, he and thousands like him remain in a situation of precariousness. The government has not enforced this order. Other employers in Korea have taken further measures to hide their illegal dispatching in the wake of the decision. Precarious work has a devastating impact on Korean workers, and leads to a two tier society that threatens the social fabric of the country.

We are also alarmed that the government has, after lengthy negotiations this year, refused to register the Korean Government Employees Union (KGEU) for the fourth time. The ILO could not have been clearer – the government must immediately register the KGEU. The ITUC calls on the Korean government to register this union now. Similarly, we are equally alarmed that the government has sought to deregister the Korean Teachers Union, in complete violation of international law. The government should not interfere with the functioning of this union, and allow it to decide who its members should be.

 
We have heard repeated cases where employers have used private security and armed thugs to brutally repress workers who are doing nothing more than trying to assert their basic rights. Again, the government has stood idly by as workers are brutally beaten, hosed by water cannons, choked with tear gas and in some cases deprived of food, water and medical attention. Employers face no consequences for this unconscionable behaviour. Worse, the government instead punishes workers by arresting them under the obstruction of business law and fining them and their millions of won meant to bankrupt them. Some workers commit suicide in the face of these crushing fines. We are reminded of the repression at Ssanyong motors and urge the government to stand by its commitment and open a parliamentary inquiry into this case.

2013, Sept.16
Seoul, S. Korea