Korea House of International Solidarity: Responding to Labour Issues in Global Supply Chains

AMRC: How does your organization work to promote solidarity of Korean workers with people in other countries affected by Korean corporations? What kinds of groups in Korea do you work with – which unions or associations/organizations (political parties, churches too?) promote Korean support for workers and people affected in other countries?

Protest in September 2006 demanding an end to political killings in the Philippines. Both Philippine migrant groups and Korean human rights groups including KHIS participated. The issue remains a theme of joint Korean-Philippine action.                 Photo: PSPD

KHIS: Some Korean civil organizations have made a ‘Response Network Against the Problems of Overseas Korean Companies.’ This network usually holds a monthly meeting and discusses the matters of Korean companies’ issues in other countries.

The participants in the Network:

1. KCTU: Ms. Ryu, Mi-Kyung, in charge of the International Department of KCTU, is a member of this network.
2. Public Interest Lawyers’ Group, ‘Gonggam’: Two lawyers from Gonggam are participating in this network.
3. Advocates for Public Interest Law: One lawyer is participating in this network.
4. Corporations for All: This is an organization promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR).
5. KHIS: Phil is a coordinator of this network.

Sometimes, human rights clinics of law schools, environmental NGOs, and other human rights NGOs join our network regarding the matters related to them. 

AMRC: When there are human rights or labour rights abuses in other countries resulting from Korean corporate activity, how do you work to get more unions to respond? What long and short-term strategies do you have to promote solidarity among Koreans and affected people abroad?

KHIS: When we receive information about abuses of human rights or labour rights, we share them with our network. If KCTU (the national centre) decides to respond to a certain case, KCTU coordinates the whole process of the case. However, KCTU (the national labour centre) maynot be able to respond to all cases of abuses in Korean companies. Therefore, KHIS has tried to introduce these cases to unions (i.e., not just the national union centre) which are interested in international solidarity. Some unions have expressed solidarity with foreign workers who have suffered from Korean companies. For instance, ‘HOPE and Solidarity’ union is a regionally based union under KCTU Seoul Regional Branch centre, which has supported Phils Jeon Union since March 2011. Strategically, we will try to spread this model of solidarity to other unions.

AMRC: How do worker organizations in Korea respond to international solidarity appeals? Are there any barriers to their cooperation with overseas groups affected by Korean capital? How does KHIS or other labour groups work to overcome them?

KHIS: Most Korean unions (including the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU)) claim to advocate international solidarity as one of their principles. However, ordinary Korean unionists do not have casual occasions for engaging in international solidarity; only some activists who deal with international matters at a confederation or federation level do. Thus if they encounter issues of Korean companies in foreign countries, they would express sympathy to the workers and try to help their struggles. Except for the case of Hanjin Heavy Industries, there are few cases about global supply chain issues at the workplaces of KCTU’s membership. On the other hand, there are some struggles on the transnational corporations in Korea. Most Korean unionists fully understand the problems of transnational corporations and they are willing to support these struggles. However, it is still very difficult to speak about international solidarity issues in the Korean labour movement.

AMRC: Can you give a recent example of your solidarity efforts? What concrete lessons from them can you share?

KHIS: The ‘Response Network Against the Problems of Overseas Korean Companies.’ conducted an invitation programme for the victims of Korean companies in Asiafrom 19 April to 3 May 2011. Merly Graffe, a member of Phils Jeon Union and Arnel, a staff of Workers Assistance Center, held a protest action in front of the Mother company of Phils Jeon. Some Korean unionists participated in these protest actions.

Another participant in the programme was Shankar, an activist against Posco India. He also participated in a rally for May Day in Seoul.

However, we did not make a big protest action with other Korean organizations because we did not contact these organizations early. Moreover, we did not contact the TV media, although some newspapers covered the struggle of Phils Jeon and others.

                                                        KHIS and other groups in South Koreaprotest in solidarity against Korean steel company POSCO which is constructing a steel mill in Orissa, Indiain spite of heavy opposition and protests of the local residents. June 2011.       Photo: Chamsesang

We learned some lessons after this invitation programme.

1.  If we need solidarity from other organizations, we need to show solidarity to them first.

2.    We should be concerned with the schedule of passport and visa requirements in advance when we set up the whole schedule with activists from overseas

3.   We should prepare for the contact points of media, especially the TV media.

AMRC: What trends and changes have you seen recently in Korea, regarding the priority given by the Korean labour movement to the conditions of  workers overseas supply chains of Korean companies? 

KHIS: After the Hanjin cases, the supply chain issue will become a more serious matter in the Korean labor movement. Some Korean unions who have suffered from transnational corporations have the will to offer solidarity for other similar cases. However, overseas supply chains are not important problems compared to domestic issues (supply chain in Korea, irregular workers, etc). In sum, the Korean labor movement is well aware of the problems of global supply chains. But still they do not have concrete experiences on these issues.