From: Institute for Global Communications
ICEM UPDATE
As South Korea's workers mobilise against new anti-labour legislation,
Korean affiliates of the 20 million strong International Federation of
Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions are in the forefront
of the action. Arrest warrants have now been issued against a number of
union leaders, including Oh Kil-sung, President of the ICEM-affiliated
Korean Council of Chemical Workers' Unions (KCWU). He is also one of
eight union leaders against whom the Korean Employers' Fed eration has
filed complaints for violation of laws on the "interruption of
business."
Oh Kil-sung and other trade unionists facing arrest are now in the
grounds of the cathedral in the South Korean capital, Seoul. There is a
heavy police presence around the cathedral, but church leaders have
publicly warned the authorities not to violate the sanctuary.
Both national trade union centres - the still not legally recognised
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the legal Federation of
Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) - are now backing strike action. Around a
million Korean workers are likely to be on st rike from 14 January.
Launched by the KCTU on 26 December, this is the country's first general
strike since the Korean War. The unions have vowed to continue it until
the government reconsiders the new legislation.
Since the establishment of a Presidential Commission on labour law
reform last April, the FKTU and the KCTU have been pressing for the
legislation to be brought into line with the trade union rights
standards of the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO), notably
those on freedom of association. Park Hun-soo, President of the
ICEM-affiliated Federation of Korean Chemical Workers' Unions (FKCU),
was among the Commission members who pressed strongly for observance of
ILO standards.
To pave the way for South Korean membership of the OECD, the government
gave clear commitments that it would fully implement the ILO Governing
Body's repeated rulings on the need for true freedom of association in
South Korea. The ILO emphasised that Kore a should recognise the right
to trade union pluralism, the right for trade unions to engage in
political activities, civil servants' right to organise and teachers'
right to organise and to bargain collectively.
But far from moving to protect workers' rights, the government swept
aside the recommendations both of the ILO and of the Presidential
Commission. Under strong pressure from the big Korean companies and
multinationals, the government legislated to:
- weaken legal provisions on weekly basic working hours (currently 42
hours maximum), with the ultimate aim of cutting overtime payments
- permit the "replacement" of striking workers (blacklegging had
previously been illegal)
- facilitate the use of contract labour to replace regular employees
- abolish job security regulations.
At the same time, the ruling party failed to lift the existing ban on
"third-party intervention in collective bargaining" - a provision which
effectively prohibits unions from seeking outside support or even expert
advice when bargaining.
In an attempt to justify the new anti-labour measures, South Korean
President Kim Young-sam spoke of the need to bring the country's
industrial relations system into line with current practice in the OECD
countries. In reality, though, the moves have more
to do with the pressures of global trade liberalisation. South Korea,
now an industrialised nation ranked no. 11 in the world in terms of GDP,
is being undercut by cheaper "competitors." Having first been urged to
work hard for prosperity, South Korean w orkers are now being told to
tighten their belts.
The Korean unions are determined to overturn the new anti-labour laws.
At its Korean affiliates' request, the ICEM is asking affiliated trade
unions worldwide to picket Korean embassies. Unions are also requested
to urge their governments to protest again st the Korean government's
breach of ILO standards and of its own promises to the OECD. The Korean
unions want a full-scale international trade union fact-finding mission
to visit the country as soon as possible.
ICEM UPDATE is available by e-mail or fax. Individual news items can be
supplied in other languages on request.
Our print magazines ICEM INFO and ICEM GLOBAL are available in Arabic,
English, French, German, Russian, Scandinavian and Spanish.
Visit our World Wide Web site at ICEM Online
ICEM
avenue Emile de Beco 109, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
tel.+32.2.6262020 fax +32.2.6484316
Internet: icem@geo2.poptel.org.uk
Editor: Ian Graham, Information Officer
Publisher: Vic Thorpe, General Secretary.
No. 1/1997
10 January 1997
The following is from the International Federation of Chemical, Energy,
Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM):