Work is NOT a commodity. Valeo, ignoring company’s social responsibility and the most basic of workers’ rights, has definitely all responsibility for plant closure in the absence of prior consultation or information. Immediately enter dialogue in good faith.

Start up negotiation to guarantee the worker’s right to live without insisting on any precondition.

We are KMWU delegation representatives for negotiation with Valeo Group headquarter for Korean Valeo local by over 12 hours boarding flight from South Korea to Paris on May 6.

Valeo Group abruptly and unilaterally notified its determination of the plant closing, and shut 180 workers out and the workers have been resisting sit in inside the factory for about 7 months since Oct. 26, 2009.

We came here to sort out rationally the current deteriorating situation by negotiation with Valeo Group headquarter. KMWU informed that it has a plan to delegate representatives to Paris, and suggested that the negotiation meeting start up on May 10 without any precondition from both parties.

However, Valeo Group refused to have negotiation at the date we requested without any previous notice and responding for our acknowledgement, and they prevented our representatives’ entering into the building for negotiation meeting with just saying that director in charge of this Valeo case has been away on vacation.

Therefore, our representatives requested again on May 14 for having negotiation meeting open on May 18 by transferring our formal message letter through a security guard at the entrance of Valeo headquarter building, and by sending the letter with registered mail in order to deliver more responsibly. However Valeo has never informed and answered previously despite they received our letter as the date of May 17. At the very requested same date of May 18, Valeo Group refused again to open negotiation without any prior notification. We just heard from a security guard that nobody at the management want to talk with us.

Valeo’s Director of Trade relations, SCHOUMAKER! STOP lying for coming between Korean and French workers.

There is another fact to get our delegation angry. Valeo Group headquarter seems that they are spreading deceptive information and lying to the workers at Valeo in France and Europe in order to shirk their own responsibility through Schoumaker, the director of trade union relations for Valeo Group.

As KMWU Valeo workers’ resisting and struggle are continuing, and FTM-CGT and European Valeo workers are supporting those struggle with calling on Valeo Group to negotiate with KMWU representatives delegated, director Schoumaker has been telling around that Valeo proposed a lot of times having negotiation by its East Asian quarter in Tokyo, Japan but KMWU Valeo workers refused and that KMWU Valeo workers are violent and seems to be hooligans.

We met just once the chief of East Asia quarter for Valeo Group, Michel SIERREH in Tokyo Hotel on Nov. 24 for delegation negotiation. At that place and time, Michel told us certainly that the factory liquidation is never changeable and there has never been workers like this Korean workers coming to complain against the companies’ restructuring despite Valeo has conducted many dismissal, and that he has no responsibility for dismissed workers and go back to Korea. That is all what took place. After that, he sent only one formal letter saying that he authorized a Korean manager to work for liquidation of the company so we should negotiate with him only about the liquidation.

However, “negotiate only about the liquidation” means to KMWU Valeo workers abruptly dismissed that we were already shut out and dismissed so we should recognize the company liquidation and just be out of the plant right now by Valeo’s abrupt notification of its unilateral decision on the factory closing in the absence of prior consultation or information.

Furthermore, Valeo sent post mails in 13 times threatening to the workers’ each family saying that the company was already closed, so your husband was dismissed, and your husband occupied the plant illegally so that conduct would be punished by the authority, rapidly persuade your husband.
The workers’ families who read the mails spent their time only being afraid of family lives.

We could just make sure this as a fact on Apr. 27 when we had a meeting with a Korean manager who was authorized to work only for its liquidation.

Back in France, any attempt to close a production site without following the rules would be unthinkable. Such misbehaviors of Valeo are violating against the transnational corporate’s minimal obligation and responsibility for workers regulated in OECD MNE Guideline. These kinds of uncivilized and impolite acts are like that Valeo Group is testing our representatives’ patience and looking down Korean workers. Also these conducts are undermining French honor based on the equality, justice and charity, and confessing the swallow corporate as itself.

Valeo must be aware of the fact that they can never stop the workers’ struggle of Korean Valeo workers just by pressure on workers shortcomings from Korean labor laws. Only faithful and responsible negotiation between Valeo Group and KMWU can resolve the deteriorating situation up to collapsing by the company liquidation currently. Because we definitely realize Currently, Valeo’s restructuring plan is only focusing on reducing the cost by shut-out of the workers.

The code on Corporate Social Responsibility [1] sets obligations for the company. Valeo! Follow OECD guidelines for transnational enterprises! This struggle of Korean Valeo workers is for protecting Valeo workers’ right to live all over the world.

Valeo’s unilateral factory closing and continuing refusal behavior of negotiation meeting have not any justice and cause. KMWU will never withdraw the negotiation delegation in France until this current situation to be sorted out and once again expecting your rational decision making, we demand the negotiation to start up by Valeo’s faithful and responsible responding. If Valeo continue refusing to open negotiation, KMWU will have no choice but to conduct strong struggle in solidarity together with International Metalworkers’ Federation, European Metalworkers’ Federation, CGT and European Works Council of Valeo.

We demand Valeo Group to stop conducting irrationally lying around behind the curtain instead of getting justly the negotiation meeting started, and pressure on workers shortcomings from Korean labor laws, and to sort out this situation reasonably by presenting in negotiation meeting.

KMWU has requested the negotiation meeting to start up with sending formal letter by registered mail and also will request continuously until the negotiation to be actually started up.