An international umbrella labor union is urging the South Korean government to ratify key conventions of the International Labor Organization(ILO) swiftly and without conditions. 

In a resolution adopted during a general board meeting in Fiji this week, the International Trade Union Confederation(IUTC)-Asia Pacific noted efforts in South Korea to achieve the parliamentary ratification of ILO conventions. 

However, it also expressed “deep concerns” over what it described as the Seoul government’s move to accept demands from the local business community in return for the ratification. 

The demands apparently refer to portions of  revisions to the related laws that the government devised to pursue the ratification, including a ban on unionized workers from occupying key workplace facilities, guaranteeing employers’ rights to counter and the extended duration of collective negotiations. 

The ITUC regional office argued that the South Korean government, as an ILO member, is obliged to respect and follow every ILO principle, including the freedom of assembly, and urged it not to revise laws in a way that reflects management’s voices. 

The Asia-Pacific branch of the ITUC represents 59 national umbrella labor unions from 34 countries in the region. 

South Korea became a member of the ILO in December 1991 but has yet to ratify four of the organization’s eight key conventions. The three ILO conventions that the government is seeking to ratify are related to the freedom of association, the right to organize and the banning of forced labor.