5112개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
Three days ago(5.10) the British Trades Union Congress delivered a protest letter to the S.K. ambassador in the UK:
"The Trades Union Congress, the national trade union centre for the UK with our 6.5 million members is concerned about the arrest and detention of the President of the Migrants' Trade Union (MTU), Torna Limbu, and Vice President Abudus Sabur on 2 May 2008. We urge you in the strongest possible terms to convey to your Government our belief that they need to start improving social relations in South Korea by ending repression of trade unions, including migrant trade unions. In particular, the President and the Vice-President of the MTU should be released without further delay, and allowed to continue their valuable and legitimate fight for migrant workers...
The TUC believes that it is clear from the above that the two trade union leaders were targeted in connection with their trade union activities. There is a clear pattern of arresting leaders of the MTU and deporting them shortly after they have become elected to top positions in the union. The two former presidents of the union were also arrested and deported in a similar fashion."
http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-14747-f0.cfm
Y'day the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) published following call for solidarity with MTU:
☞ Stop New Repression of Migrants Union in Korea
And finally in the Philippines the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights is demanding:
☞ Stop Repression Against MTU and Migrant Workers in S. Korea
Last Thursday(5.08) in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka some former members/activists of MTU - mainly deported by the S.K. "authorities" - held a meeting/press conference to support the current struggle of MTU against the ongoing and increasing crackdown on migrant workers in general and the S.K. government's plan to smash the MTU "once and for all" in particular.
Two days later(5.10) the Bangladeshi bourgeois daily newspaper The Daily Star reported about the meeting/conference:
Legalise irregular(*) Bangladeshi workers to ensure rights
Bangladeshi migrants' rights organisations yesterday urged the South Korean government to legalise the irregular workers who have been living in South Korea for 10 to 15 years in a bid to ensure their rights to work.
South Korea has long been ignoring the issue of human rights of the foreign workers, though the foreign workers are playing immense role in the South Korea's economy, they said.
They also demanded to give registration to Migrant Trade Union (MTU), a union of foreign workers, by Industry of Labour in South Korea and immediate release of MTU leaders who were arrested recently.
They raised the demands at a press conference organised jointly by Mutual Welfare Society, International Migrants Foundation and Welfare Association for the Rights of Bangladeshi Emigrants (WARBE) at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity auditorium in the city.
Moniruzzaman Masum, a migrant leader, said according to the estimate of the Bangladesh government, over 12,000 workers are now working in South Korea. Of them, 6000-7000 workers are irregular.
MTU's former General Secretary comrade Masum on the conference..
He was arrested and deported in Dec. last year by the S.K. "authorities".
He also said it is a matter of regret that the Bangladesh government does not have any accurate information about the workers who have been contributing a lot to the country's national economy by their uphill struggle.
He also said 80 percent of the workers are forced to work irregularly due to the government mismanagement.
He urged the government to do something for legalisation of Bangladeshi workers in South Korea immediately.
In a written statement, International Migrants Foundation President G M Rabbani said, “Formed in 2005, MTU has been working for establishing rights of the foreign workers in South Korea. Korean Confederation of Trade Union approved the MTU. Though the High Court of South Korea in its verdict directed the ministry of labour to give registration to MTU, the ministry is yet to give registration to MTU.”
He also said people of 103 countries are working in South Korea and about 2.4 lakh foreign workers out of 4.5 lakh are working there on irregular basis.
Rabbani also said MTU has been facing repression by the government of South Korea since its inception and now three MTU leaders, including its Vice President Abdus Sabur, were arrested on May 2 as they raised their voice for the rights of foreign workers. They will submit a memorandum to Korean Embassy in Bangladesh, hold meeting with foreign adviser, send letters to the United Nations (UN) office in Bangladesh and International Labour Organisation (ILO), stage a human chain and conduct a mass signature campaign, they announced...
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=35666
* Of course they mean "un-documented" (migrant) workers!!
Only two weeks ago OneFreeKorea (US) cheered: "Better Them Than Us: Korean Nationalism Turns on China", but (fortunately) this was just a short "pleasure"! Just few days later the "Korean Nationalism" (unfortunatey) turned back to business as usual, the "National Struggle Against the US-Imperialism".. and founded the..
Anti-Mad AmeriCow Revolution
Since about ten days tens of thousands of demonstrastors are taking the streets of S.K. to protest against the planned (based on the SK-US FTA agreement) import of US beef, "very likely infected with BSE" (..of course, what else!?!?).
Tens of thousands of people in S.K.'s major cities took to the streets last Friday and Saturday protesting the government's decision to resume imports of U.S. beef after a five-year ban.
Only on Friday more than 30,000 people participated in a candlelight vigil in Seoul which was organized by a coalition of 1,500 civic groups and Internet-based communities in what was the biggest gathering since the government announced plans to relax the import restrictions on U.S. beef.
And the Americans in SK.. What they've to say?: "The Koreans are Mad at 'Americow' Disease!"..
☞ They May Already Have vCJD (K. Times, 5.08)
☞ President's arrogance contributed to continued protests (Hankyoreh, 5.10)
☞ South Korean beef overcooked (Asia Times/HK, 5.07)
☞ Rally Against US Beef Sweeps Nation (Korea Times, 5.10)
☞ One Million Netizens Favor Impeachment
☞ Text-Message War Looms Over Candlelight Vigils
☞ Police Issue Strong Warning to Candlelit Ralliers
PS:
My suggestion how you can avoid the contaminated U.S. beef: EAT DOG MEAT and KIMCHI!! And dont't forget to drink every night (at least) one bottle of SOJU!! It's very healthy and you support the local producers!!
CNN's correspondent Christiane Amanpour gives a rare glimpse of the secret society in the "Notes from North Korea" airing tomorrow (KST 2300, CET 1600 on CNN Int'l) and Sunday (KST 1500).. Well, just check it out! It could be an interesting(*) report!
☞ Behind the Scenes: Amanpour's notes from North Korea (CNN, 5.08)
* Of course(!!) you don't have to believe(^^) everything what you see, hear, smell, feel... "DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!!" (Public Enemy)
Before y'day activists in Taiwan (Coolloud) released following call for solidarity (the same text has been published in HongKong by the APMM):
Condemn the Continuing Crackdown on the MTU
The continuing arrests of the top leadership of the Migrants Trade Union (MTU) a day after International Labor Day sends a chilling effect on the migrant and general workers movement in South Korea. This should be condemned by all as this is clearly meant to crush the MTU and sow terror among the grassroots migrant organizations.
Torna Limbu and Abdus Sabur, President and Vice President respectively assumed the leadership of the MTU only on April 6 this year. They just replaced the top leadership of said organization who were arrested on November 27 last year and who were subsequently deported.
Most of the members of the MTU are undocumented migrant workers. Their organization has been steadfast in its struggle against the crackdown on such kinds of workers since its formation in 2005.
This includes winning a legal battle in the Seoul High Court on 1 February 2007 whereby undocumented migrant workers won the right to freedom of association and the right to unionize. The Korean government, however, has appealed the decision to its Supreme Court which will make a decision in the middle to the end of this year.
The number of undocumented migrant workers is growing despite the introduction of the Employment Permit System (EPS) and the dissolution of the trainee system last year. The South Korean government however is hell-bent in cracking down on such kinds of workers.
We call on all to condemn the South Korean government on its latest repressive actions. Undocumented migrant workers are not criminals and should not be treated as such. Even the International Covenant on Migrant Workers of the United Nations recognizes their rights.
Support the MTU and KCTU's calls to stop the repression on the MTU and all undocumented migrant workers in Korea!
Call for the immediate release of President Torna Limbu and Vice President Abdus Sabur!
Recognize MTU's legal union status and its right to freedom of association!
http://www.coolloud.org.tw/node/20604
First of all: "The crackdown on illegal immigrants will continue for three months to root out any possible social and labor problems involving illegal immigrants, according to the Ministry of Justice" (Korea Herald, 5.07)
2 Heads of Migrants' Union Face Deportation (K.T., 5.07)
Two top officials of an unauthorized migrants' union will be deported next week on illegal residence charges.
Members of the union claim the arrest was made to interrupt the establishment of the foreign labors' union that has acted against the government's labor policies. The government denies the allegation, saying it was a regular search.
The Ministry of Justice announced Wednesday it arrested Nepalese Torna Limbu, 42, head of the Migrants' Trade Union, and Bangladeshi vice president, 39, identified only by his surname ― Sabur, last Friday. The two, who have been illegally residing here for 16 and 9 years, respectively, were sent to the Cheongju Detention Center in North Chungcheong Province.
``They will be deported by the end of next week,'' Kim Young-geun of Korea Immigration Service told The Korea Times. ``They have lost their passports. We asked the Nepalese and Bangladeshi embassies in Seoul to re-issue their passports as soon as possible.''
According to the ministry, the two foreign labors have controlled the union since last November when their predecessors left the country by force. Since then, they have organized several protests along with civic groups to call on the government to revise some touchy labor issues such as giving legal residence status to all illegal migrant workers.
``We prioritize the arrest of illegal employment agents and illegal residents who overstay their visas. The foreign nationals in question have lived here for a long time. Also, they have actively participated in and organized anti-government protests,'' Kim said.
A street protest opposing the government's move was held in front of the government building in central Seoul, Wednesday, in the presence of more than 50 members from the migrants' union, Federation of Korean Trade Unions and some civic groups.
Lee Jung-won, spokeswoman for the foreign workers' union, said ``It is unjustifiable to take them away by force. We will press the government to release them immediately.''
``The police apparently intended to catch the two union heads to disband our union,'' Lee said.
The foreign labor rights group, which has failed to win legal status from the authorities, filed a suit against the government last year and the case is pending in the Supreme Court.
The crackdown on illegal migrants is likely to continue during the next three months since the government launched a special team this month to contain the soaring number of illegal immigrants here.
As of January, a total of 653,064 foreign laborers were living in Korea, including an estimated 202,817 illegal workers, the justice ministry said. The government estimates more than 20,000 illegal workers have resided here for a decade or longer.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/05/117_23810.html
Already y'day(5.06) the S.K. "left"-liberal daily newspaper Hankyoreh reported:
MTU leaders arrested for holding demonstrations
Latest arrest could be the start of sweeping crackdowns on migrant workers
The Ministry of Justice announced on May 5 that it had arrested two leaders of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrant Trade Union, including its president Torner Rimbu(*), for organizing demonstrations against the government. The MTU is protesting the arrests, saying that the incident is the beginning of a sweeping roundup of foreign workers.
According to the ministry, the two MTU leaders led demonstrations against government policy. The MTU, with the cooperation of other civic groups, have held demonstrations to demand that all immigrants without visas be given legal status and the employment permit system, which allows companies to hire migrant workers only when Korean citizens cannot be found, be abolished. The ministry announced that it would deport the two MTU leaders, both of whom had overstayed their visas. Torner Rimbu became the MTU president after the group's former president, Kaji Man(**), was deported in November.
The ministry formed a task force on May 1 and launched the first crackdown on all migrant workers without visas since the inauguration of President Lee Myung-bak in late February. The ministry plans to continue its crackdown for the next three months, and says that it will prevent illegal foreign workers from making inroads into the domestic labor market.
"The target of crackdown is our leaders, the fact that two of our leaders were arrested as soon as the crackdown began proves it," representatives from the MTU said.
Lee Jeong-won, an MTU official, said that they saw the crackdown coming after the new government began stating that there should be stricter enforcement of the law. The government wanted to remove the MTU leadership ahead of the crackdown on migrant workers, Lee, the MTU official, added.
The MTU also said that dozens of immigration authorities ambushed Rimbu, the MTU president, in order to catch him.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/285993.html
* Torna Limbu!!
** Kh. Kajiman
Repression against MTU Leadership Continues!
The South Korean government has attacked MTU (Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union) once again. On May 2, only one day after workers around the world celebrated May Day, MTU's newly elected president and vice president were forcibly arrested by immigration officers, the president in front of the union office and the vice president at his home. We are deeply enraged by this act of repression against MTU and migrant workers' organizing in South Korea!
Description of the Incident
At roughly 8:20pm on the night of May 2, President Torna Limbu and MTU's vice general secretary were walking out of the MTU office when they were suddenly confronted by 10 to 15 immigration officers who were waiting hidden around the corner. The officers surrounded the president and without presenting a detention order violently forced him into a van waiting nearby. When the vice general secretary attempted to protest he was physically restrained by officers who shouted at him not to interfere with public affairs.
Soon after, at around 9:00pm the same night, union officers become unable to contact MTU Vice President Abdus Sabur. When a union officer and a Korean supporter went to check on him, they found his house empty. A neighbor informed them that immigration officers had been their shortly before. At 12:30am it was confirmed that the vice president had also been arrested and that both men were being transported to Cheongju Detention Center 2.5 hours south of Seoul.
The arrests of both MTU leaders were clearly pre-planned. Immigration officers had followed the president since the previous day when he participated in May Day activities. The vice president recognized a person who had sat nearby him at a fundraiser the week before among the officers who arrested him. That President Torna heard the officers in the van carrying him communicating consistently with those stationed near Vice President Sabur’s house and in other areas in Seoul also shows clearly that the arrests were coordinate with one another.
Long-term Attack on MTU
This outrageous act of repression comes only several months after the targeted crackdown against MTU leadership on November 27 of last year in which the former president, vice president and general secretary were all arrested. In the wake of that attack MTU, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and supporters from the labor movement and civil society carried out a 99-day sit-in protest calling for an end to the oppression against migrants and migrant organizing and at the same time rebuilt MTU. On April 6, MTU elected a new leadership, with President Torna at the forefront, and moved forward determined to fight the crackdown against undocumented migrant workers and win migrant workers' labor and human rights.
The new conservative government of Lee Myeong-bak, however, has only strengthened the policy of repression against migrant workers. A mass crackdown against undocumented migrant workers has again begun and Lee Myeong-bak has stated that he will not tolerate undocumented migrant workers' unionizing.
Supreme Court Case
Lee Myeongbak’s statement is a direct reflection of the attitude the South Korean government has taken towards MTU since its founding in 2005. At that time the Ministry of Labor rejected MTU’s official union status, claiming that undocumented migrant workers do not have the right to freedom of association and union activities. MTU carried out a legal battle against this decision and eventually won in the Seoul High Court on 1 February 2007. However this verdict was appealed to the Supreme Court, where a decision is expected to be reached by the middle to end of this year. The Ministry of Labor bases its appeal on the claims that the right of undocumented migrant workers to freedom of association is not protected in the South Korean Constitution or stated clearly in international law. However, we know that workers are workers, entitled to the same labor rights, no matter what country they reside in under what visa status. This was clearly shown in the High Court decision, which ruled that undocumented migrant workers are the subjects of equal labor rights under South Korean law and in rulings of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association (UGT [2001], AFL-CTM [2002]) and the Inter-America Court of Human Rights (17 Sept. 2003), which show that international law protects the union rights of undocumented migrant workers.
Stop the Repression!
The arrests of President Torna, Vice President Sabur and previous union leadership, and the South Korean government’s refusal to recognize MTU’s legal union status are clearly an attempt to break MTU's opposition to oppressive policies towards migrant workers. This repression is not only against MTU, but against migrant workers’ organizing in general and, indeed, the entire labor movement.
Despite the attacks, MTU stands unwaivering in our opposition to the crackdown against undocumented migrant workers and in our position that migrant workers, regardless of their visa status, are entitled to equal labor and human rights. We therefore make the following demands:
1. Stop the repression against MTU and release President Torna Limbu and Vice President Abdus Sabur immediately!
2. In the name of the right to freedom of association of all workers, recognize MTU’s legal union status!
3. Stop the crackdown against legalize all undocumented migrant workers!
Call for Solidarity
Ours is a fight not only for migrant workers in South Korea but for migrant workers all over the world. Therefore, once more, we ask for your support. Please show your solidarity in the following ways.
1. Organize a solidarity protest in front of the South Korean embassy or consulate in your area.
2. Send a protest letter in your organization’s name to the South Korean Ministry of Justice and Commissioner of Korea Immigration Service. (See the example letter below, please send to all the fax numbers given)
3. Encourage your members and networks to sign the online petition at this link: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/StopMigrantRepression/.
4. Please send us a copy of protest letter and a word of any actions you take and pictures if possible. inter@kctu.org , mtuintl@jinbo.net
Let’s struggle together for the rights of all workers!
Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants Trade Union(MTU)
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU)
--------------------
Sample Protest Letter
Ministry of Justice, Republic of Korea
Building 1, Gwacheon Government Complex,
Jungang-dong 1, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do
Republic of Korea
Fax: 82-2-2110-3079
Commissioner of Korean Immigration Service
Fax: 82-2-500-9059, 82-2-500-9128, 82-2-500-9026
To the South Korean Minister of Justice Kim Gyeong-han:
We, the ___________(organization’s name), write to express grave concern and outrage at the recent arrests of the President and Vice President of the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU). We see this attack as an assault not only against MTU but against the migrant workers movement and labor movement worldwide.
On the evening of May 2, only one day after May Day, MTU President Torna Limbu and Vice President Abdus Sabur, were arrested at separate places between 8:20 and 9:20pm. The President was coming out of the MTU office with the MTU Vice General Secretary when they were suddenly confronted by 10 to 15 immigration officers who were waiting hidden around the corner. The officers surrounded the president and without presenting a detention order violently forced him into a van waiting nearby. When the vice general secretary attempted to protest he was physically restrained by officers who shouted at him not to interfere with public affairs.
Soon after, 10 to 15 immigration officers banged on door of Vice President Sabur’s residence, entered and forcibly arrested him. Both men were transported that night to Cheongju Detention Center 2.5 hours south of Seoul. These arrests were clearly preplanned and carefully carried out in an attempt to stop MTU’s rightful union activities. Even more maddening, they come only several months of a similar attack against MTU’s leadership in which the previous president, vice president and general secretary were arrested and later deported at the end of last year.
We are aware that this targeted crackdown against MTU’s leadership coincides with the pending Supreme Court Case concerning MTU’s legal union status. We are concerned that despite a Seoul High Court Ruling on 1 February 2007 in favor of MTU, the Supreme Court decision, most likely to come out in the middle or end of this year, may deny South Korean migrant workers’ right to freedom of association, in contradiction with South Korean and International Law. We wish to assert that all workers, regardless of their visa status or the country in which they reside, are entitled to equal labor rights, including the right to form and participate in trade unions.
The arrests of President Torna, Vice President Sabur and previous union leadership, and the South Korean government’s refusal to recognize MTU’s legal union status are clearly an attempt to break MTU's opposition oppressive policies towards migrant workers. We see this not only as repression against MTU, but as repression against migrant workers’ organizing and the labor movement worldwide.
We therefore make of you the following demands:
1. Stop the repression against MTU and release President Torna Limbu and Vice President Abdus Sabur immediately!
2. In the name of the right to freedom of association of all workers, recognize MTU’s legal union status!
3. Stop the crackdown against legalize all undocumented migrant workers!
Sincerely,
___________________
(name, title, organization)
Last Thursday (yeah, it was the "MayDay") the S.K. gov't announced an increasing wave of oppression against the workers'/resistance movement.
And just one day later one of the first victims seems to be the Migrant Workers' Trade Union(MTU)..
..as MWTV reported y'day:
Crackdown on Migrants' Trade Union Leaders
Two leaders of Migrants' Trade Union(MTU) were targeted for crackdown by Immigration officers.
Last Friday(5.02) at 8pm, Torna Limbu, the chairperson of MTU, was taken off when he was heading for the rally to stop the U.S beef imports. About 10 immigration officers waited outside the MTU office for a chance and caught him in an instant. An hour later, Abdus Sobur, the vice-chairperson, was also taken away by the immigration officers who were hiding near his home.
The next day at the press conference in front Seoul Immigration Office, Torna has been quoted that he is alright and earnestly told migrant workers and activists to keep struggling. Confined now since last Sunday in Cheongju Immigration Detention Center, Torna is known to be injured on his waist and shoulder while being taken away from Seoul Immigration Detention Center.
Comrades Torna and Sobur in Cheongju Deportation Center
The government of Lee Myung-bak has made absurd remarks that they will eliminate all migrant workers and this can be seen as the sign that the government will get down to suppression on MTU...
Last Saturday(5.03): Press conference/protest rally in front of Immigration Office in Seoul
Despite the plan of the S.Korean ruling class/gov't to increase the oppression against the workers/resistance movement (*) thousands of activists celebrated with rallies and a mass demonstration y'day in Seoul the Int'l Struggle Day of the Working Class:
More impressions from the events you can see here:
☞ "MayDay 2008", photo report (노동의소리)
☞ ... #2
☞ ... #3
☞ ... #4
And already the night before (4.30) the annual Workers' Struggle Culture Festival took place in Seoul/Sangam-dong, in front of the HomeEver Department Store, where labour union activists are in strike since more than 300 days (E-Land Strike!):
More impressions about the event you can see here:
☞ "430 Struggle Culture Festival", photo story (노동의소리)
* Likely (^^) on the occasion of the Int'l Struggle Day of the Working Class the S. Korean ruling class, here represented by the "National Police Agency", presented yesterday a very special gift to the resistance/worker's movement! (according to Korea Times, 5.01):
25 Labor-Related Bodies Blacklisted as 'Illegal'
The National Police Agency (NPA) has included an anti-FTA alliance, major umbrella labor unions and even a political party on a list of what it called illegal, violent organizations, and will ask the government to discontinue subsidies to these groups.
The NPA said Thursday that it classified 25 organizations as illegal ones for leading violent protests and instigating public unrest.
The list was made at the request of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the police headquarters said.
Among the organizations on the list are the Korean Alliance Against the KORUS FTA, the Democratic Labor Party, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Korean Metal Workers' Federation.
Any organization classified as illegal cannot benefit from national subsidies.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/05/113_23490.html
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