Office Address: “We dream of a society that will never be torn apart just for the need to survive!”
SOLIDARITY MESSAGE
MIGRANTE International, a global alliance of Filipino migrant organizations condemns the arbitrary arrest and detention of 10 Vietnamese migrant workers in
The 10 arrested Vietnamese migrant workers were part of the 200 Vietnamese workers hired under the Employment Permit System (EPS) to build a substructure of a container wharf at the
The arrests happened in March and April this year, two months after the workers staged a walkout on January 9, 2011. It was the workers’ second after the July 22, 2010 walkout where they also complained about poor working conditions, particularly the lack of food provision, extended working hours and curtailment of their freedom of movement.
MIGRANTE International believes that the arrests were illegal and that the Vietnamese workers were just exercising their right to protect their interests and to protest any violation of their rights. Under the United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families, these rights are guaranteed, and therefore, must be respected by the South Korean government.
MIGRANTE International supports the legitimate demands of these Vietnamese migrant workers whose plight is similarly experienced by migrant workers around the world. Without adequate legal frameworks that guarantee their protection against abusive employers, migrant workers are always vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Many of the victims often end up in jail and deported, tortured and maltreated, or worse, murdered.
We, therefore, demand the immediate withdrawal of the charges against the 10 Vietnamese workers and their immediate and unconditional release.
We demand the South Korean government to take the necessary step to correct this mistake and to institute mechanisms that can guarantee protection for migrant workers regardless of nationality, gender and residence status.
MIGRANTE International also calls on migrants around the world to rally behind the cause of the 10 Vietnamese migrant workers by sending protest letters to the South Korean embassy in their respective countries. Let us put pressure on the South Korean government to demand the immediate release of the victims.
Drop the charges! Release the 10 Vietnamese migrant workers!
Long live international solidarity!
Chairperson
6 June 2011
