3 March, 2009Global union fact-finding mission finds labour rights violations in Korea worsening since the lifting of the OECD monitoring process in 2007, unions call on government to implement key ILO recommendations.
KOREA: A global union mission to Korea jointly sponsored by the International Metalworkers' Federation found that labour conditions have grown worse, not better, since the OECD monitoring process was lifted in 2007 and despite repeated ILO recommendations calling for urgent labour law reform.
The mission, which took place February 23-25, held a series of meetings with labour, government and employer representatives regarding the labour rights situation in Korea, with a particular emphasis on the implementation of recommendations for labour law reform put forward by both the OECD and the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Governing Body.
Unions are calling on the OECD to consider reinstating the monitoring process and are calling on the ILO to take further steps to press the Korean Government to implement key labour law reform in an effort to stop the growing number of labour rights abuses, including mass arrests of labour leaders and the denial of collective bargaining rights for a growing number of precariously employed workers.
According to a statement released by the mission, there is growing international concern that "prosecutors are using the legal framework, namely Korea's unique obstruction of business clause (penal code 314) much more broadly and severely to limit trade union activity. This is occurring despite repeated ILO recommendations dating back to 2000 calling on the Korean government to bring the obstruction of business clause and other stipulations in Korea's labour law in line with ILO convention principles, specifically ILO Convention 87, Freedom of Association."
The mission will report their findings to the OECD and ILO.
The global union mission was jointly sponsored by the International Metalworkers' Federation, the International Trade Unions Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee of the OECD (TUAC) with participation from Public Services International (PSI), and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).