'저는 그들의 땅을 지키기 위하여 싸웠던 인디안들의 이야기를 기억합니다. 백인들이 그들의 신성한 숲에 도로를 만들기 위하여 나무들을 잘랐습니다. 매일밤 인디안들이 나가서 백인들이 만든 그 길을 해체하면 그 다음 날 백인들이 와서 도로를 다시 짓곤 했습니다. 한동안 그 것이 반복되었습니다. 그러던 어느날, 숲에서 가장 큰 나무가 백인들이 일할 동안 그들 머리 위로 떨어져 말과 마차들을 파괴하고 그들 중 몇몇을 죽였습니다. 그러자 백인들은 떠났고 결코 다시 오지 않았습니다….' (브루스 개그논)





For any updates on the struggle against the Jeju naval base, please go to savejejunow.org and facebook no naval base on Jeju. The facebook provides latest updates.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Text Fwd: OECD official says S.Korean government is excessively interfering in labor-management relations

'Roland Schneider, senior policy advisor at the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), speaks during a press conference at the office of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) in Seoul’s Yeouido, May 13.'

Hankyoreh
OECD official says S.Korean government is excessively interfering in labor-management relations
:The official says the Lee Myung-bak administration’s limit on wage payments to full-time unionists does not conform to international standards.

Posted on : May.14,2010 12:31 KST


Roland Schneider, senior policy advisor of the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), held a press conference Thursday at the office of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions in Seoul’s Yeouido on labor relations in South Korea. Schneider stated that the limit on wage payments to full-time unionists, which has been generating controversy in Korea, does not conform to international standards.

In addition, Schneider also said that the South Korean government is interfering excessively with labor-management relations and noted that the time off system in South Korea was introduced to weaken unions. He commented that the international standard is for the issue of full-time unionists to be left to independent discussions between labor and management.

Furthermore, Schneider also said that the time off limit in South Korea is vastly shorter than in other countries. He noted that while the German automaker Volkswagen has around 100 thousand workers, it also has 52 active full-time unionists. With the time off limit to be announced Friday by the Labor Ministry, a workplace with more than 15 thousand union members is restricted to 18 full-time unionists as of July 2012, regardless of company size.

In Germany, he pointed out, the employer must provide all expenses for the union office, communications equipment and union representative education. He commented that the South Korean system gives rise to unfair labor-management relations because it forces the workers rather than the employers to bear all expenses for union activity.

In order for the South Korean government to broaden the scope of its activity on the international stage, he said it must reform labor-management relations and labor law to conform to the international standard. He warned that if labor rights continue being downgraded, it might become difficult for discussions or ratification to take place for additional free trade agreements.

Schneider traveled to South Korea on Monday to conduct an investigation so that he will be able to serve as a union advisor when the OECD makes a decision in the near future on whether to include South Korea in its special monitoring in the areas of labor law and labor-management relations.

Schneider said that he plans to report the deteriorating situation in South Korean basic labor rights to the OECD’s Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee on May 17 and urge the committee to seriously examine the matter.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

No comments:

Post a Comment