For the first time this year, on July 18, the South Korean government ordered arbitration at LG Caltex Oil by sending in police forces into LG Caltex Oil to suppress workers who were on strike. Also, on July 20, the government remitted Seoul¡¤Incheon Subway and Metropolitan Rail to arbitration, thereby, pushing government and labour relations to a direct point of confrontation. If the government decides to send in riot police to suppress the subway workers, then it would have serious repercussions for this year’s upcoming tripartite dialogues.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held a press conference on the morning of July 20 denouncing the latest actions of the government. It warned, “If the government and employers continue to ignore the just demands of the unions and continue to suppress workers by relying on arbitration and sending in riot police, then the tripartite relationship will not be able to move forward.”

In relation to the tripartite representatives meeting and social negotiations body, President Lee Soo-Ho said, “Currently we have not made a firm commitment as to our participation in the tripartite meeting; however, our decision will clearly be influenced by the actions of the Noh government. If the government continues to deny the workers’ right to strike, then our choices are very limited. We will have no alternative but to continue with our actions and struggle for workers’ rights.”

The main demands of the subway union are creation of jobs in the public sector through reduction of working hours (resolving youth unemployment through employment of novice workers), implementation of the five-day workweek without deterioration of working conditions (improving quality of life for workers), stop discrimination against irregular workers and ensure their status as regular workers, and stop an increase in subway and train fares.

In particular, the union is strongly demanding the employment of novice workers through implementation of the five-day workweek and as solution to youth unemployment problem. However, if the government represses the just demands of the union through arbitration, it will merely prove that the logic of the government -that implementation of the five-day workweek will improve quality of life and create jobs- was simply a rhetoric.

In the case of LG Caltex Oil, which was subjected to arbitration, it recorded a net profit of 387.5 billion won, and just in the first quarter of this year, 200 billion won. However, the ratio of wages is merely 1 2% of total sales. Clearly the company has profited tremendously at the expense of irregular workers (nearly 50% of the workforce) who are paid much less than regular workers and must work longer hours with very limited benefits. In addition, the communities who live nearby LG Oil must bear brunt of the environmental damages due to pollution and release of toxins in the air.

At the moment, the Noh Moo-Hyun government is utilizing practices used by previous governments and regimes to suppress unions - arbitration. It is expected that the government will go through the typical steps to suppress the strikes - 1) use arbitration; 2) declare strikes to be illegal, thereby, a criminal act; 3) send in riot polices; 4) engage legal actions and law suits against the union leadership. Should the events lead in this direction, the relationship between workers and the government will be pushed to the brink.
Huh Seop, president of Seoul Subway Union warned, “If the Noh Moo-Hyun government cannot get rid arbitration, which is an old and draconian law reminiscent of previous regimes, then, the least the government can do is not to use it to repress our strike. Arbitration will only act as a catalyst in prolonging the strike.”

The Governing Body of the ILO has consistently requested the revision of South Korea’s ’arbitration’ measure. It recommended that the Korean government should “further amend the list of essential public services contained in section 71 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Adjustment Act (TULRAA) so that the right to strike is prohibited only in essential services in the strict sense of the term.” (Para. 356(a)(iv); 287^th Session of ILO Governing Body, June 2003)

Furthermore, the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association “considers that railroad services, the subway and the petroleum sector which remain on this list do not constitute essential services in the strict sense of the term whose interruption would endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population.” (Para. 488; 327^th Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association, March 2002)

The ILO recommendations recognize arbitration as a serious threat to freedom of association and worker’s right to strike. However, the South Korean government has once again manifested to the world the repressive reality Korean workers live in, by ordering arbitration.

The KCTU Demands the Following.
1. Stop the use of Arbitration as a method of repressing Freedom of Association and Right to Strike.
2. Immediately implement the ILO’s recommendation regarding Arbitration.
3. The Noh Moo-Hyun government and the Subway Corporation should be sincere in their negotiations with the union.