(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on Sept. 24)

Civil Servants??? Union
Government, Workers Should Drop Prejudice to Start Anew

War clouds hang low over the labor front, now that unionized government employees
have joined the progressive, anti-government umbrella organization.
As soon as they voted to unite into one and enter into the Korean Confederation
of Trade Unions (KCTU) Tuesday, the leaders of the three government employee
unions said, ``We are now here to bring about justice on the Lee Myung-bak
administration." The government countered with a joint statement of three Cabinet
ministers, calling the civil servant unions' joining the professed
anti-government KCTU as ``inappropriate" and pledging to ``sternly deal with" any
activities violating laws or breaching the union's duty to keep political
neutrality.
Their exchange of announcements apparently went way beyond simple forestalling
jabs to virtual declarations of all-out war, adding more gloom to the notoriously
hostile relationship between government and labor in this country.
Most of all, it should be noted that the labor unions' move to become members of
a higher organization is perfectly legal, so the government's intervention is
unjustifiable. Officials say they oppose it because KCTU is a ``politicized"
group, but they had better be more frank if they want to avoid criticism about
double standards or ignoring the principle of equity.
This is in part because these officials remained silent when other, smaller civil
servant unions acceded to the pro-government Federation of Korean Trade Unions,
and because a politically-neutral group is supposed to neither support nor oppose
the government.
The government's belligerent response is based on its hasty conclusion that the
public servants would ride on KCTU's clout to stage collective actions, which is
prohibited by law. These concerns may not be entirely groundless in view of these
unions' track records, but more likely prove to be a self-fulfilling prophesy;
the government will have only to wait and see and take due legal steps if and
when its employees violate laws.
It's this prejudice and unnecessary hostility that aggravates the nation's
already problematic industrial peace, which is ranked almost at the bottom by
various international surveys.
One can no longer tell which side is more responsible for what has now become a
chicken-and-egg question. If there is one undeniable fact, however, it is that
the nation's global ranking in industrial peace is in exact proportion to its
dismal labor standards falling far short of what has been recommended by
International Labor Organization. For instance, the ILO recognizes multiple
unions in one company and the right to strike for government employees, both of
which are lacking in this country.
True, some leaders in Korea's backwards labor movement deserve criticism, not
least because of the imbalance between their rights and obligations. But equally
??? if not more ??? problematic is the Establishment's deeply-rooted prejudice on
unionism, citing the nation's peculiar situation of being a late bloomer in
industrialization.
Still, a country's unique circumstances should be no reason to justify its
outdated systems and practices, thus defending the vested interests of the
Establishment.
Many Korean leaders seem to abhor the word ``labor" itself like a creepy insect,
but current governing parties in Britain and the United States are either labor
parties or based on labor unions. Not long after his inauguration, U.S. President
Barack Obama called in union leaders and said, ``I want you to know that you will
always have a seat at the table."
It's hard to know what President Lee means by his ``care for the working-class
people," when his administration is so harsh on unions.
(END)