The International Public Services Federation (PSI) has accused the South Korean government of suppressing the rights of labor unions and urged it to stop such actions.
According to the labor sector on the 8th, PSI adopted an emergency resolution containing these points at the Asia-Pacific Regional Executive Committee meeting held in Seoul over two days starting from the 6th.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Construction Union held a rally on the 28th in the Gwanghwamun area of Seoul to protest the government's crackdown on illegal activities at construction sites. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@
In the resolution, PSI emphasized, "We condemn the South Korean government's attempts to defame labor unions in order to diminish the labor rights of hardworking Korean workers and divert attention from austerity policies for the wealthy and other regressive policies."
It continued, "We are deeply angered by the South Korean government's infringement on union rights through public institutions including the Fair Trade Commission and the National Intelligence Service," pointing out that "this includes criminalizing the Cargo Solidarity strike for safe freight rates, illegalizing collective agreements of the Construction Union, and unjust interference in union accounting."
They added, "We demand that the South Korean government, as a responsible member of the international community that has ratified International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, cease all forms of union suppression."
PSI is an international federation of industrial unions representing 30 million public service workers belonging to 689 unions in 152 countries. In South Korea, organizations such as the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Public Transport Workers' Union are members.
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