4 November, 2010On the eve of the G20 meeting taking place in Seoul on November 11 and 12, the IMF writes to the Korean President demanding he honour international commitments and respect workers' rights.
KOREA: The International Metalworkers' Federation wrote to the Korean President on November 4, demanding he honour international commitments and respect workers' rights.
"The anti-union activities of your government are well documented, and the number of arrests and severity of prison sentences as well as physical violence is increasing," writes IMF general secretary Jyrki Raina.
Korea is one of the worst countries in the world for the repression of its workers. The laws in Korea are used by the government and employers to routinely jail trade unionists for exercising their rights and to stop subcontracted and many public sector workers from joining a union or bargaining collectively.
The IMF letter, sent on the eve of the G20 meeting taking place in Seoul, joins more than 100 protest letters have been sent to the Korean President over the IMF website in recent weeks as part of global action by trade unions to defend workers' rights in Korea.
The IMF will join an international delegation of trade union representatives in Seoul next week to deliver the message more directly and show solidarity to Korean workers.
To support this action, IMF has produced a series of campaign resources, including posters, stickers, leaflets and a government briefing note, are all available on the IMF website.
"It is time that the Korean government honours its international commitments and respects workers' rights," writes Raina.