ICFTU ONLINE...
181/980903/LD
Korea: ICFTU condemns anti-union repressionBrussels, September 3 1998 (ICFTU OnLine): The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has condemned today’s police raid ordered by the South Korean authorities to put an end to a strike in a car parts factory.
According to the ICFTU, some 1,200 police officers raided six factories today (Thursday September 3) belonging to Mando Machinery Corps, the country’s biggest car parts company, and arrested 100 strikers, putting an end to a 17-day sit-in.
The ICFTU has sent a protest message to President Kim Dae Jung expressing its indignation at the "anti-trade union measures reminiscent of a past age". The Confederation also expressed its support for the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, KCTU, which plans to organises rallies throughout the country tomorrow (September 4).
The strike in the Mando factories began on August 17 in opposition to the company’s plans to make 1,090 staff redundant. According to trade union sources, police in anti-riot gear, backed up by police vehicles and a helicopter, used teargas to force the workers out.
Last month a strike at Hyundai ended with an agreement in which the management, which had foreseen 1,600 redundancies, accepted a total of only 277 job losses.
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
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please contact: Luc Demaret on: 00 322 224 0212 - press@icftu.org