Public Workers’ Union Under Siege
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Police arrested a public workers' union leader Thursday after the labor ministry filed a lawsuit against him as his union didn't follow an order to fix flaws in a collective bargaining agreement.
The arrest of Sohn Young-tae, co-chairman of the Korea Government Employees' Union (KGEU), signals increased pressure against unionized public workers as it faces a deepening internal division over joining the nation's largest labor union confederation.
Earlier this week, the government labeled the KGEU as an illegitimate entity, cutting off state subsidies and other benefits after the union allowed fired public workers to become members.
The move came after three public workers' unions, which are scheduled to merge in December, announced their decision to join the nation's largest and most militant umbrella labor group, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), in the near future.
The ministry urged the union to change the codes of collective bargaining of two city union branches in Mooan and Jeonju, saying some parts of the two local unions' agreements on collective bargaining with the city authorities violated the law.
Under the agreement, city authorities must inform their union workers in advance when they plan to outsource personnel or seek restructuring.
The labor ministry maintained that those clauses went against the law as unions are barred from including law or budget related elements into the management-labor agreement, and urged the KGEU to fix it.
The union said the arrest of Sohn is a plot to weaken the public workers' union.
The arrest came after members of the public workers' union were divided over whether to join the militant KCTU, which mainly consists of blue-collar workers. Some union members opposed the plan.
Amid the controversy, the union members of the National Election Commission will decide whether or not to cut ties with the KCTU.
About 67 percent of the election watchdog unionists are affiliated with the militant labor union confederation which has sparked a controversy.
Critics say that their membership in the progressive union federation, which endorsed liberal and progressive parties in previous elections, could impede their duty of political neutrality.
It was reported that the public workers' union planned to rethink joining the progressive nationwide union, but the KGEU denied it.