The joint complaint to the ILO’s Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) by the ITF, PSI, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union (KPTU) was filed on 1 November.
It relates to failures in Korean law in relation to the current road and rail disputes, and the country’s duty to protect workers’ rights. These include:
• Unilateral imposition of changes to public sector pay structures
• Restrictions on free and voluntary collective bargaining
• Use of replacement workers during a lawful strike
• Improper application of the criminal law and arrests and imprisonment of union officers and members
• Disciplinary actions against union officers and members
The complaint points to the increasing use of arbitrary detention and judicial harassment against trade unionists in Korea for organising and participating in public rallies, including Cho Sung‐deok, KPTU Vice President, who is currently serving a two-year prison sentence.
It also states that most of the issues have been to the CFA previously but the Korean government has largely ignored its recommendations.
KPTU president Sangsu Jo said: "The KPTU appreciates ITF and PSI's support in filing this ILO complaint, which is an important element in our fight to defend workers’ rights in Korea.
“The current political scandal, where police are investigating whether Choi Soon-sil used her friendship with South Korea’s president Park Geun-hye to influence government matters and benefit personally through non-profit foundations, puts things into context. It clearly shows that the violations of trade union rights discussed in the ILO complaint are expressions of a deeply rooted problem, characterised by collusion between the Korean government and corporations for personal profit."
ITF president Paddy Crumlin added that repeated demands by the ITF, other global unions and their member unions for an end to the persecution and violence against Korea’s trade unionists had fallen on deaf ears. He hoped there would be a positive outcome of the CFA complaint and vowed the international ITF family would keep up the pressure on the Korean government until it respected workers’ rights.
On 12 October, the ITF and its unions staged a worldwide action day, protesting outside 11 embassies and sending messages of solidarity to the Korean unions. The ITF also condemned police attacks and arrests of striking truck drivers on 11 October after members of the KPTU Cargo Truckers’ Solidarity Division (KPTU-TruckSol) began a national strike in opposition to the government’s plan for deregulation of the trucking transport market.
Two union missions to South Korea took place at the end of September, to observe and support the striking truck drivers and their embattled trade unions. A visit by a 10-strong team from the ITF and Public Services International (PSI) global union federations and representatives from their member unions was preceded by a visit by the Transport Workers’ Union of Australia (TWU) national assistant secretary Michael Kaine.
ITF leaders Paddy Crumlin, Steve Cotton and Rob Johnston attended the Seoul court to witness the sentencing of Cho Sund-deok on 26 July.
