EU Free Trade Agreement with South Korea despite its record of repeated labour rights abuse
In a letter sent to President Barroso this week, EMF General Secretary Peter Scherrer stated that “an agreement reached with partners who do not fully respect human and trade union rights and which, in addition, is unbalanced in terms of economic benefits, should not be concluded.”
Recent developments in South Korea provide examples of repeated labour rights abuse and workers being prevented from exercising their right to freedom of association and to conduct collective bargaining. The European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF) therefore insists that a precondition for the conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU must be that the South Korean government brings its laws into line with the ILO core labour standards.
The EMF has drawn the European Commission’s attention to the possible negative effects the current negotiated FTA could have - above all on the European automobile industry and its workforce. The foreseen duty drawback creates a competitive advantage for Korea. Given the figures (600 000 Korean cars sold on the EU market, 30 000 EU cars sold on the Korean market) the FTA may well have serious repercussions on the European automobile industry. The duty drawback would give Korea’s industries access to low-cost Asian countries and of course to China. This constitutes a clear advantage over European manufacturers who trade predominantly on the European market and therefore do not benefit from duty drawback. The economic indicators show very clearly that economic gains for the EU are small and that the FTA is imbalanced.
Commenting on the imperilled European car industry in his communication to the EU President, Peter Scherrer stressed that “in the current context, where the European automobile industry has been plunged deep into the crisis and hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake, we insist that an FTA can only be concluded when certain preconditions have been fulfilled. The possibility that this FTA might serve as a model for others is alarming”
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PRESS 30/2009
The EMF is the representative body defending the interests of workers in the European metal industry. The EMF has a mandate for the external representation and coordination of the metalworkers' unions and a mandate to engage in bargaining at European level.
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