Government: "ILO Cargo Strike Response 'Violation of Freedom of Association' Has No Legal Binding Force"

On the 8th, when the government issued an additional work commencement order to the Cargo Solidarity, a truck was carrying a container and moving at the Uiwang IDC in Gyeonggi Province. / Uiwang = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The government cautioned against overinterpretation of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) judgment that the work commencement order during the 2022 cargo strike violated the freedom of association convention, stating that "it has no legal binding force and no direct sanctions."

On the night of the 14th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor issued a press release stating, "The Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) generally adopts recommendations when complaints are filed by labor and management organizations citing violations of the freedom of association convention, and the recent CFA recommendation did not mention any violation of the ILO convention by the Korean government."

On the 13th (local time), the ILO adopted and published the CFA recommendation regarding the complaint filed by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' Public Transport Union at its 350th Governing Body meeting. In the recommendation, the ILO urged the Korean government to "stop anti-union discrimination and interference and guarantee freedom of association."

In response, the Ministry of Employment and Labor stated, "As a country that has ratified the ILO freedom of association convention, we hold the position that the principle of freedom of association must be guaranteed; however, unlike the intent of the CFA, there is concern that labor and management organizations and the international community may misunderstand that the Korean government infringed on freedom of association."

It added, "The government's work commencement order was an unavoidable measure taken very restrictively to minimize social and economic damage and threats to the livelihoods of vulnerable groups such as construction day laborers." Furthermore, "The process was carried out through Cabinet approval and reporting to the National Assembly, and to date, no criminal sanctions have been imposed solely for noncompliance with the work commencement order."

It continued, "We plan to thoroughly review the key points examined by the CFA in cooperation with related ministries. However, for parts that do not correspond to the facts or where misunderstandings about the Korean government's measures have occurred, we will request the ILO to reflect our official responses."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.