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French retail multinational Carrefour and the Korean commerce trade union signed a collective agreement today in Seoul. This follows discussions between UNI Commerce and the company's central management in Paris. Carrefour is expected to announce next week to which one of the several bidders it will sell its Korean store network.

Two weeks ago, UNI Commerce wrote to Carrefour, asking for a commitment from the company to preserve the jobs of its Korean workers in connection with disinvesting from the country. In a rapid response, the company's top management ensured that they will indeed take care of its workers' interests when concluding the sale, and will also consult about this directly with UNI Commerce.

Union pleased with outcome, cancels strike

These contacts between UNI Commerce and Carrefour lead to a stepping up of the collective agreement negotiations in Seoul, which had been slowed down as the local partners had not been able to reach agreement on employment guarantees. After a few days of intensive discussions, supported by UNI Commerce and Carrefour headquarters, a result was reached today and a new collective agreement was signed.

The Carrefour workers' union is pleased with the outcome, says UNI's Korea representative Jay Choi, who participated actively in the process. They will now focus on securing the jobs of the company's workers when it is taken over by a new owner. UNI Commerce has pledged its support and participation in this effort, and has already been in contact with Carrefour about how to proceed.

Global agreement shows its strength

The successful negotiations in Seoul, based on the global agreement between UNI and Carrefour, also mean that the strike previewed for 1 April has now been cancelled. Instead, the Carrefour union, the Private Services Workers Federation, UNI Commerce and Carrefour will work together to secure that the company's 6,000 Korean workers will retain their jobs also under a new ownership.