On May Day, Korean Workers Express Sorrow and Rage

Korean workers puts forth demands in the wake of the Sewol Ferry Accident

This year, Korean workers commemorate May Day in the midst of a period of mourning. The tragic April 16 Sewol ferry disaster, which left hundreds of school children and other passengers dead or missing, has cast a dark shadow across this day, which should be used to celebrate the international labour movement.

There will be no colourful marches and rallies this year. Instead, the theme for Korean Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU) May Day events this year will be the expression of ‘sorrow and rage’. KCTU’s main rally in Seoul will be used to mourn the victims of the Sewol disaster and channel into a positive voice for reform the growing anger at the government and capital’s inattention and avarice – the causes of these and so many other deaths. Ten thousand workers are expected to gather in Seoul and fifty thousand nationally.

Safety experts are now pointing to excessive deregulations, privatisation of public transport and emergency services, the use of precarious work arrangements and the corrupt appointment of officials in oversight agencies as causes of the Sewol tragedy. These issues are at the heart of the erosion of social and democratic rights now underway in South Korea. On May Day, Korean workers must mourn not only the senseless loss of life from the ferry accident, but also rampant occupational accidents and illness, the social murder of mass dismissals and the neglect of low-wage workers, the poor, the disabled and other vulnerable groups. Korean unions will also declare their commitment to struggle against the capitalist greed and government support for it that are the root causes of so much tragedy.

This May Day, the KCTU and its affiliates will call on the government to take responsibility for the inattention to safety that led to the ferry sinking and put forth demands in relation to the Sewol tragedy including calling for an end to policies of deregulation and privatisation, which put profit ahead of people’s lives, strengthening of penalties against business owners responsible for large-scale accidents and enforcement of laws prohibiting the use of precarious workers for permanent work.

Source: http://www.kptu.net/mboard.asp?Action=view&strBoardID=KPTU_PDSENG&intPage=1&intCategory=0&strSearchCategory=|s_name|s_subject|&strSearchWord=&intSeq=13243

 KCTU-FKTU Public Sector Union Alliance Statement on the Sewol Tragedy and the Attack on Public Institutions

– Seeking to detracted attention from the government’s responsibility for the Sewol tragedy, the Mofia (Ministry of Strategy and Finance) again targets public institutions

On 29 April, the same day that President Park Geun-hye made a public apology for the Sewol tragedy, the Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance announced details of its plan for the ‘normalisation of public institutions’, which calls for the sale of public institution’s assets to private capital and cuts to workers’ benefits and rights.

Deregulation, privatisation and corrupt government appointments are being pointed to as the causes of the Sewol accident. Yet, at this time when the government should be focusing all its efforts on the search for missing Sewol passengers and national recovery from the tragedy, Ministry of Strategy and Finance officials - the Mofia (Ministry + mafia) - are focused only and their false ‘normalisation of public institutions’ plan. The fact that the Ministry waited until the day of the President’s apology speech to suddenly announce policy decisions that had actually been made a week before, moreover, raises suspicions of a deliberate attempt to deflect attention away from government failures that led to the Sewol disaster. Public institution workers, who are mourning the deceased and wishing fervently for the return of the missing, are filled with despair and rage at this situation.

Korean public institution unions have made clear that the government’s false public institution normalization plan uses the pretext of reducing public sector debt as an excuse to vilify public sector unions and restrict their rights. The recent announcement made by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance demonstrates the validity of our claims. Real ‘normalisation’ would require strengthening of safety regulations, efforts to stop corrupt appointments and measures to prevent privatization. The Ministry’s announcement mentioned none of these things, however. Rather it brought to light efforts by Ministry officials (the Mofia) to increase their control over public institutions and put themselves above the law itself.

In South Korea, the right to collective bargaining and the conclusion of collective bargaining agreements is protected in the Constitution and labour relations law. Nonetheless, the Ministry has announced its plans to deny this constitutional right through a simple administrative directive, which calls on public institutions to unilaterally revise collective bargaining agreements even if they are still in effect. The Ministry has also announced plans to force a freeze on public institution wages, despite the fact the wages should be a subject of collective bargaining. These directives clearly represent illegal interference in public sector labour relations.

Real normalization of public institutions must start with an end to the Mofia’s efforts to increase their own power and deny legally protected rights.

The title Mofia is suggestive of the Ministry’s character. The fact that this Mofia is seeking to expand its power and circumvent the law even when social criticism of the corruption of government officials is growing is all the more outrageous. The Park Geun-hye administration must start with true reform of the government before it thinks about ‘normalising’ public institutions. Public institution workers pledge to join Korean citizens in their protest against the government’s irresponsibility.

* Source: http://www.kptu.net/mboard.asp?Action=view&strBoardID=KPTU_PDSENG&intPage=1&intCategory=0&strSearchCategory=|s_name|s_subject|&strSearchWord=&intSeq=13244