Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Mineros, the SME, the FAT, and Hector,
I hope you are all doing well! The Korean Metal Workers' Union, together with our confederation the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, held a press conference, rally and made a delegation visit to the Mexican Embassy in Seoul, South Korea today (24 February 2012). This is the 3rd time we've protested in front of the embassy (all with similar posters), so this time we covered two sides (the entrance which we normally cover and also the other side of the building with a large "MEXICO" sign and flag) We also met briefly with an embassy representative named Luz Elena Banos, Counsellor & Deputy Head of Mission at the Mexican embassy in Seoul, South Korea. She promised to convey our concerns to Calderon through the embassy's channels. We said that now Mexico is going to chair the G20 it will need to show it can recognize independent unions and safeguard rights for workers etc. At the rally, KMWU Vice President YANG, Dong-Gyu expressed heartfelt solidarity with the comrades in Mexico as we share the same struggle to win real rights for workers and see so many similarities between our President LEE, Myung Bak and President Calderon (we even chanted down down Calderon!) We also see similarities in some of the legal issues around interference in deciding bargaining representative (as in getting out of the protection contract for a Mexican worker and trying to navigate the "imposition of unitary bargaining channel" provisions of the new Korean labor law) and the government's persecution of the SME is something we also see here... we share the same fight ! Most of the rally participants were women and men from tough struggles in Korea as well (like the Ssangyong Motor dispute and the Kiryung Electronics). Already, the most widely read print labor newspaper carries the story of the fight of independent unions in Mexico; I think Korean workers around the country who read it will be completely outraged and feel the burning solidarity with you. For us in Korea, also we are thinking of planning toward a fight or strike to demand trade union rights in the fall (maybe around August or so). I hope things are going well in Mexico...In Korea, we also have parliament elections in April and Presidential elections in December. We wish you strength and all best!
In solidarity,
CHONG, Hyewon Executive Director, International Korean Metal Workers' Union