7 April, 2006
President Roh Moo-hyun
1 Sejong-no, Jongno-ku,
Seoul 110-820
Republic of Korea
By fax: +82-2-770.03.44
By e-mail [email protected]
Dear Mr. President,
I am writing, after having been informed by the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM), to protest against the ongoing trade union repression in your country of the members of the Korean Chemical and Textile Workers’ Federation (KCTF) at GS Caltex.
The anti-union behaviour by GS Caltex started in 2004 when the company, with the help of the Korean police, aggressively retaliated against a strike that was organized by the workers at GS Caltex. The strike was the result of the company’s decision to disregard a set of reasonable union demands, which were on issues such as a five-day, 40-hour work-week and the non-discrimination of contract workers.
After the brutal suppression of the strike, GS Caltex continued to hit back at the union’s members and leaders by selecting at the gate who could return and who could not. This also happened with the assistance of the police, who remained stationed inside the company for 52 days. GS Caltex also harassed families of workers and ended up dismissing almost all union officials, 30 in number. In addition, eight trade union leaders were arrested and sentenced to periods of two to three years in prison. A total of 650 other workers were disciplined with three-month suspensions from work.
Since then, the company has refused to bargain in good faith with the workers, whose situation and future remains extremely insecure. I am calling upon your government to assist in ending the desperate situation of the KCTF members. GS Caltex needs to come to a fair and honest agreement with its workers and end its unfair labour practices. Also, the dismissed union leaders must be reinstated.
Thanking you in advance for your kind cooperation
Yours sincerely,
(Name)
(Title)
(Union)