“We will defend our democratic union with our own hands!”

KGEU Rally with 2,000 members on June 23

The June struggle of KGEU which had started with union leaders’ hunger strike from May 29 marked its culmination in the rally on June 23, in which more than 2,000 members participated. The main demands at the rally were guarantee of government employees’ basic labour rights, reinstatement of the dismissed, no to worsening of government employees’ pension, no to forceful retrenchment of government employees, and no to corporatisation of national universities.

As usual, the Korean government had tried to block the rally. The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MOGAHA) issued a directive on June 5, ordering local governments and agencies “to thoroughly supervise government employees so that they do not get get involved in illegal activities of KGEU.” (MOGAHA, Official Letter, Public Labor & Service Management Team-1225, June 5, 2007 / Gangwon Provincial Government, Official Letter, General Affairs Department-12843, June 7, 2007)

Followings are excerpts of the official letter by the government.

"Thanks to the concerted efforts by the government and local governments to promote transformation of illegal organisations into legal unions, more and more chapters of KGEU have been transformed into legal ones. However, some militant members of the KGEU chapters are planning to organise collective actions in June such as grassroots union leaders’ rally on June 2, nationwide action tour and signature campaign, and mass rally in Seoul on June 23.

Concerning the matters above, all heads of government agencies are asked, as follows, to persuade government employees not to get involved in illegal activities and to take thorough countermeasures in close cooperation with other agencies like the police against any type of illegal collective actions.

a. On KGEU’s June struggle
– stop distribution of KGEU fliers to government employees and posting of KGEU banners on union’s activities
– block KGEU’s action tour at workplaces and its meetings with government employees and persuade them to not join the signature campaign
– monitor and document cases of leading and agitating participation in illegal activities, to be used as evidence for disciplinary actions (if confrontation is expected or happens, take immediate countermeasures with cooperation from the police)

b. On the illegal rallies
– strictly control government employees’ using of outside duties, official trips, annual leaves and sick leaves (if inevitable, make sure to confirm the reason and the destination)
– prohibit government employees from wearing union vest during working hours
– block in advance government employees from joining the rallies in cooperation with the police
? take disciplinary and judicial actions against those who lead and agitate participation in the rallies and those who are actively involved in the rallies"

However, more than 2,000 members took part in the rally on June 23 and one-month nationwide action tour had been successfully organised. More than 400 grassroots leaders joined the action tour, during which about 20 meetings and local actions with rank and file members were organised per day.

At the rally, president KWON Seung Bok claimed during his speech that “the argument that the KGEU has shrunken due to government repression is totally not true” and that “instead, we are witnessing today that we are alive and the union is reviving.” And he underlined that “we will strongly respond to any actions that serve the interests of the government and capital and we will defend our democratic union.” Lastly, he added that “history will never forget where you are today.” Despite that he had been continuing his hunger strike for 26 days, he was able to make a speech before the union members at the rally. However, he fainted and was hospitalised shortly after the rally. He had to stay at a hospital for a couple of days.

At the rally, KCTU first vice president, Sister JIN Young Ok, stated during her speech that “we have gathered here to defend a democratic union” and that “although the government and capital are trying to split up the KGEU through its divide-and-rule policy, the KCTU will support and defend the KGEU to the end.” Bro. DAN Byung Ho, a member of parliament from KDLP and former president of KCTU, strongly criticised those who left the KGEU, stating during his speech that “when a ship sinks, what jumps the ship first are rats.”

In fact, KCTU president LEE Suk Haeng also stated several times that “regardless to say, the current leadership of the KGEU has the legitimacy and that the KCTU will support the KGEU and those who were disaffiliated from the KGEU cannot be accepted into the KCTU.”

What the above speakers were referring to, was the fact that a section of the KGEU disaffiliated themselves and formed another union. Unfortunately, June 23 also saw the establishment of another union of government employees, named so-called Korean Democracy Government Employees" Union (as written on their website as their English name). Those, who insisted that KGEU should get registered right away in order to avoid the government repression and to keep the union in unity, assembled into an ’emergency committee of KGEU’ when the KGEU held a national congress on May 19. And the committee denied legitimacy of the current leadership of the KGEU. They claimed that the current leadership had ignored the prevailing views of rank and file members of the union who wanted the union to get registered right away. They insisted that they were succeeding the legitimacy of the KGEU.

 ILO adopts CFA report with strong recommendations on KGEU issues in June

On June 12, the OECD Council decided to terminate the monitoring mandate of its Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee (ELSAC) on Korean labour law and industrial relations reform. It does not mean at all that Korean government has fulfilled its commitment to reform existing labour laws and industrial relations in accordance with internationally accepted standards. Instead, it is also indicated that there are several issues in labour laws and industrial relations to be properly addressed by the Korean government in order to meet international standards. In fact, the OECD Council also called on the Korean Authorities “to inform the ELSA Committee on the further implementation of labour law and industrial relations reform in the spring of 2010 or possibly earlier, after certain changes in labour law, currently governed by a moratorium, will have taken effect.” [1]

On June 15, three days after the OECD decision, the ILO Governing Body adopted the 346^th report of the Committee on Freedom of Association. [2] Through this report, the ILO pointed out to the Korean government the problems of its Establishment and Operation of the Public Officials’ Trade Union Act and indicated that further measures were needed to guarantee basic rights of government employees, and requested that the government stop its repression of the KGEU and enter into dialogue with the union so that it could register its establishment within a framework that meet international labour standards.

While the Korean government favorably quoted the decision of the OECD on June 12, it never mentioned the ILO recommendations. Although some media stated that these recommendations are the strongest ever issued by the ILO - in particular, on KGEU issues - the only thing the labor ministry did is issue a press release for elucidation. It claimed that these recommendations are not unusually strong, and that the ILO made a mistake in saying that the Korean government had made commitment to ratify ILO core conventions on freedom of association. Instead, it persisted that it had simply expressed willingness to ratify the conventions. Except for the refutation above, the government did not express any view nor issue an official press release on the recommendations and ILO conference, which is very unusual.

Followings are an excerpt of KGEU statement dated June 19^th on the adoption of the CFA Report at the 299^th ILO Governing Body. [3]

Implement the ILO Recommendations Immediately!

Stop the Repression of the KGEU and Begin a Dialogue with the Union!

This year the International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted a set of unprecedently strong recommendations for the Korean government. On June 15^th, the ILO’s governing body adopted the Committee on Freedom of Association’s report. Through this report, the ILO pointed out to the Korean government the problems of its Establishment and Operation of the Public Officials’ Trade Union Act, indicating that further measures were needed to guarantee basic rights to government employees, and requested that the government stop its repression of the Korean Government Employees’ Union (KGEU) and enter into dialogue with the union so that it could register its establishment within a framework that met international labour standards.

Regarding the Establishment and Operation of the Public Officials’ Trade Union Act, it recommended that the government recognise the right to associate for all public officials’ thereby ending the controversy around the issue. Regarding the right to collective bargaining, the report stated that collective agreements should be complied to, and that the government needs to abide by them. Regarding the subjects of negotiations, it indicated that government policy should not be excluded from bargaining, if it is expected to have consequences on the employment conditions and interests of government employees. Collective action, according to the CFA’s request for consideration, should also be restricted within a strictly limited scope, and not in a comprehensive way.

The CFA’s report also requested a reconsideration of the dismissals of KGEU officials. This is based on the recognition of the legitimacy of the KGEU’s activities demanding basic labour rights. It also states that the KGEU should have the possibility of expressing their views publicly on economic and social policy questions.

Perhaps what is most important is that the report clearly recognises the KGEU as an “legitimate organisation outside of the law”, not as an “illegal” entity, and that it expresses its deep regret at the repressive measures of the government while also requesting that such acts should immediately be ceased. Furthermore, it also details the extensive interference of the government in the internal affairs of the trade union, and calls attention to the gravity of the situation, again calling on the government to immediately stop such actions.

The significance of the CFA report is that it has again affirmed, in clear and unambiguous terms, the international community’s general recognition of what the KGEU has been asserting ever since its founding: that the call for the guarantee of basic labour rights that meet international labour standards is just, and that trade union activities for such rights are legitimate. It has underscored how absurd the Korean government’s assertion that the labour situation in Korea has been recognised internationally with the ending of the OECD’s special monitoring process is. Moreover, the OECD had requested that the government report back on problems that remain unresolved, and the ILO’s report has again confirmed that Korea needs a process in place to monitor problems relating to its labour situation. In the light of the fact that one of the Korean government’s arguments for the termination of the OECD’s special monitoring process had been that monitoring of the labour situation was a role of the ILO, the ILO’s recommendations of the past month are proof that the current labour situation in Korea fall far short of international labour standards.

For over 10 years now the ILO has recommended to the Korean government that it stop the repression of workers, that it recognise trade unions, and that it engage in dialogue with the labour movement. It has been 14 years since it has urged basic labour rights for public servants, 10 years since it has requested that trade union activities by government employees not be obstructed, and over 5 years since it has called for the repression of the Korean Government Employees’ Union be stopped and that it be recognised.

In the meantime, Korean has become a member of the United Nations and the OECD. It has become the 11^th largest economy in the world, and one that is now constantly stressing global standards and the need to globalise. Korean government’s foreign affairs minister is now the UN Secretary General, and another public official is now a high ranking official at a UN?Human Rights Body.

However, the Korean government’s response to trade unions and its stance on basic labour rights has not changed substantially from the dictatorships of the past. Recommendations from UN bodies and from the specialised agencies such as the ILO are still being blocked by so-called ’special Korean circumstances,’ and the government doesn’t seem capable of accepting the global standard when it comes to the issue of labour.

The KGEU demands that the Korean government immediately implement the most recent ILO recommendations. It also calls upon the government to ratify the ILO’s core conventions regarding freedom of association. The government had previously stated that it has the willingness to do so, but it has been over 10 years and the time has come for a concrete timetable.

A government that refuses dialogue and negotiations is not a ’participative government’ as it claims to be. A government that refuses the mediating recommendations of international organisations cannot be recognised as a responsible member of international society. A government that arbitrarily interprets the content and substance of the basic rights of its citizens cannot be a democratic government. We declare that if this government fails to implement the ILO’s recommendations, and if it continues to refuse dialogue with the government employees’ union, then it will have to pay a commensurate price.

The KGEU again urges the Korean government. The government needs to respond to the union’s call for dialogue, and to start talks for an amendment to the Establishment and Operation of the Public Officials’ Trade Union Act in order to meet international labour standards for the guarantee of basic labour rights. The guarantee of basic labour rights takes precedence over the government’s already damaged international image, or its domestic prestige. The government needs to make a wise decision on what policy direction to take in order to improve its image abroad and to salvage what it can from its labour policy.

It is time for it to open its eyes and ears. The government that has ignored and disparaged the numerous recommendations on the part of international society now needs to recognise the truth.

Today is the 22^nd day of KGEU leadership’s hunger strike in front of government offices. The KGEU’s demands regarding basic labour rights are simple: Guarantee labour rights that meet international labour standards. In order to do this, some provisions of the current Establishment and Operation of the Public Officials’ Trade Union Act need to be revised, and government employees that have been taken to disciplinary actions for taking part in legitimate trade union activities for basic labour rights need to be reinstated. The government must dialogue and negotiate with the KGEU for this to happen. Now is the time for the government to respond to the recommendations and request from abroad and from within.

 Solidarity for KGEU’s Struggle Expands

Solidarity from various parts of civil society has expanded. Domestically and internationally, various trade unions, NGOs, political party/organisations have issued solidarity statements while leaders and activists from various parts of society and organisations have come to the sit-in protest to show support to the KGEU leaders on hunger strike.

On June 12, 184 civil society organisations from all across the country jointly hosted an “Emergency Conference to Call for Guarantee of Labour Rights for Government Employees”. NGO leaders, human rights activists, university professors and national assembly members spoke at the conference. The speakers emphasised the important role that KGEU plays in society such as advocating quality public services, ousting corruption and bringing reforms to public offices, and made it quite clear that labour rights should be given to government employees.

The next day, on June 13, leaders and representative from KCTU and affiliate federations, Korean Peasants League, Professors for Democratic Society, Solidarity of Human Rights Organisations, religious groups and many other organisations held a press conference in front of the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MOGAHA) to announce a declaration signed by 2,620 workers, peasants, politicians, civil society leaders and activists. The declaration states “We, from various sectors of civil society, call on the Korean government and the national assembly to immediately implement the repetitive recommendations from international organisations, to recognise the KGEU and to come out for talks. Furthermore, we demand that the government immediately revise the malignant clauses of the special act that violate labour rights, and to guarantee autonomous and democratic trade union activities of government employees.” After the press conference, a group of civil society leaders went to the presidential house to officially submit a letter and the declaration to President ROH Moo Hyun and meet relevant presidential advisors.

The Public Services International (PSI), a global trade union federation that represents 20 million public workers around the world, to which the KGEU is affiliated, also launched a campaign to support the KGEU. [4] The PSI claimed that, whilst there have been some positive developments in reform of labour laws and industrial relations in Korea, the government has still not implemented full trade union rights in the public sector, and emphasised that it still represses the KGEU and actively suppresses and arrests/imprisons union activists performing what are normal unions activities in other OECD countries. Through its campaign, the PSI asked for its affiliates in OECD countries to press the issue with their government representatives at the OECD.

On June 6, the PSI Japan Council, which is made up of 6 unions including JICHIRO, JPSU and ZENSUIDO, sent its solidarity message to the KGEU. The PSI-JC stated that they have been putting pressure on the Japanese government on the Korean labour issues within the OECD and also hoped that the KGEU could keep its stance without giving way to the government suppression.

The Confederation of Vocational Unions - Section for State Employees (YS Stat) also expressed its support for KGEU’s struggle through a solidarity message on June 8. The YS stat sent its official letter to the Norwegian government as well to put its attention on necessity to continue monitoring on reforming labour laws in Korea.

The Fiji Public Service Association and the Fiji Trades Union Congress also sent solidarity messages stating that Fijian workers are standing together in unity with KGEU’s struggle.

Strong voices of solidarity from Australia and New Zealand were also heard. The CPSU-SPSF group expressed its support and solidarity, claiming that Korean government employees, like all employees anywhere, should have internationally recognised rights to freely associate, to bargain collectively and to withdraw labour in that bargaining process. The SEARCH Foundation stated through its solidarity message that they would strongly campaign for Australian representatives at the ILO and OECD to continue their objection to the repressive laws.

The UNISON from UK sent its solidarity message to the KGEU members. They stated that they have put links on their website and sent out an urgent action to their members for solidarity actions. Especially, the UNISON told the KGEU that in May they had refused to meet a delegation from the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MOGAHA) from Korea. As an explanation for not meeting with the delegation, the UNISON said, “given MOGAHA’s role in the prohibition of our sister union, the KGEU, the imprisonment, intimidation harassment of its members, the closure of KGEU offices and the violent disruption of its meetings we feel it would not be appropriate to honour you with the opportunity of a meeting. Furthermore we are deeply concerned about the failure of the Korean Government to meet their ILO obligations.”

Besides those above, there were dozens of strong solidarity messages from India, the United States, Swiss, Malaysia, the Netherlands and South Africa. The messages have been translated into Korean and distributed into press. [5]