ICEM Protests Expulsions by Korea of Migrant Workers’ Union Leaders

The ICEM filed strong protest with the government of South Korea last week over the detention and deportation of two leaders of the Migrants’ Trade Union (MTU). President Tornu Limbu and Vice President Abudus Sabur were arrested outside the union’s offices in Seoul on 2 May, and held in the Cheongju Detention Centre.

The two were deported by South Korea’s Justice Ministry on 15 May, according to a release issued by Amnesty International. Due process was denied them, as they were not given legal rights to challenge the deportation order.

“It is very clear to the ICEM, and its 475 affiliates in 173 countries, that the two have been incarcerated because of their trade union activities, a clear violation of accepted international norms and standards,” stated ICEM General Secretary Manfred Warda in a letter to the Korean head of Mission at the UN in Geneva last week. “Migrant workers, like all other workers, deserve the respect and treatment afforded them under freedom of association, as enshrined in ILO Convention 87.” Click here to find the ICEM letter.

Reportedly, both Tornu Limbu, a citizen of Nepal, and Abudus Sabur, from Bangladesh, were beaten while in detention. The crack-down occurred just following newly-elected South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s public vow that foreign workers in the country, who are without the necessary papers, will be flushed out of Korea even through use of force.

Limbu, 42, and Sabur, 39, had been effectively organising migrant workers in the country for 16 and nine years, respectively. Limbu has been a vocal critic of the difficulties and unfairness inherent in the work permit process in Korea for foreign workers.

The MTU and the fight for rights for migrant workers have the backing of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. On 18 March, the plight of migrant workers in Korea was the central focus of a seminar in Geneva, which called on the United Nations to take strong action to ensure that migrant workers work with dignity as part of their basic human rights.