Solidarity Message for MTU (Aug 2, '09 12:50 PM)
for everyone
To our Migrants Trade Union brothers and sisiters in Korea, I am, Sringatin, on behalf of Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (IMWU) in Hong Kong, on this occasion would like to deliver our solidarity message, and our warm regards, to strengthen comradeship between migrant trade union activists, between IMWU and MTU.
MTU Brothers and sisters,
What IMWU know along this time, the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants Trade Union was founded in 2005 and has been carrying out legitimate union activities since. The South Korean Ministry of Labor and South Korean administration have refused to acknowledge MTU’s legal union status because its founders are undocumented migrant workers. However, as was shown in the Seoul High Court ruling of February 1, 2007, the South Korean Constitution and the Trade Union Law protect the right to freedom of association of all those who enter into employment relations as workers, including undocumented migrant workers.
Base on International law to which South Korea is party including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) all protect the rights of workers, regardless of social status, to freedom of association. In particular, the CERD General Recommendation No. 30(2004) states that “guarantees against racial discrimination apply to non-citizens regardless of their immigration status” and that “all individuals are entitled to the enjoyment of labor and employment rights, including the freedom of assembly and association, once an employment relationship has been initiated until it is terminated.” In addition, ILO Convention No. 87, which South Korea is bound to uphold as a member of the ILO, protects the right to freedom of association for all workers, “without distinction whatsoever” and has been shown to apply to undocumented migrant workers through CFA recommendations (UGT, 2001 and AFL-CIO/CTM, 2002
We are concerned that the South Korea government denial of MTU’s union status is in contradiction to these international conventions and to South Korean domestic law. It is our position that countries that adhere to international human and labor rights standards must protect the right of migrant workers, regardless of visa status, to freedom of association. As such, it is our position that the denial of MTU’s legal union status should be reversed and MTU should be granted recognition.
Therefore we, Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (IMWU) demand to South Korea government:
1. Legal status and recognition for MTU;
2. Stop crackdown on MTU;
At the end, we Indonesian Migrant Workers Union would like to appeal and urge to our brothers and sisters Indonesian migrant workers in South Korea to join or form union, to defend workers rights.
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Solidarity Message from Indonesian mIgrantWorkers Union in HongKong
