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Wal-Mart should change and start to respect its workers. This was the message of Korean commercial workers and their union when they demonstrated last week outside a store in Seoul. The local Wal-Mart outlet was 'protected' by some two to three hundred heavily armed riot policemen, something which the other competitors had never resorted to. Once again, the retail giant from Bentonville showed its inability to adapt to the countries into which it has expanded.

The union demonstration on Wednesday last week was arranged by the Korean Federation of Private Service Workers' Unions, in cooperation with UNI Commerce and its North American affiliate UFCW. The message to the company was clear, Wal-Mart should change.

Working Poor Maker = Wal-Mart

"Working Poor Maker = Wal-Mart, come to social dialogue with UNI immediately". This was the clear message expressed both at the demonstration and at the preceding press conference, arranged in cooperation with the Korean UNI Liaison Council in central Seoul.

Alan Spaulding of UFCW, here together with UNI's representative in Korea Jay Choi, participated in the sit-in demonstration in the Korean capital. The manifestation that asked Wal-Mart to change and to accept social dialogue was arranged by the local UNI Liaison Council, UNI KLC. It was part of tightening up the global union network on Wal-Mart, which UNI Commerce and UFCW are jointly engaged in.

Alan Spaulding of UFCW, who is also president of UNI Commerce, told the Korean workers about Wal-Mart's brutal behaviour against its workers in the United States and Canada. He warned that once in a dominant position, the retail giant would not shy from exerting a strong downward pressure on already low wages and poor conditions through the whole commerce sector.

Jan Furstenborg, head of UNI Commerce, characterised Wal-Mart's global behaviour as a modern day imperialism. The company uses its huge earnings from its home market in the United States to gain larger market shares abroad through price wars and social dumping.

Everybody pays for this: The US Wal-Mart workers are far below the salary levels of its competitors, and most of them are denied affordable health care for themselves and their families. In the overseas markets, competitors are forced to lower their own standards, and there is an enormous downward pressure on wages and other collective agreement provisions.

Wal-Mart started Korean presence by union-busting

When Wal/Mart established itself in Korea, this was done through the takeover of an existing store chain. In fact, there was a trade union in place at the time. One of the Arkansas commerce giant's first steps was to get rid of it. But its anti-union policies have not helped, Wal-Mart still lags behind local hypermarket giant E-Mart as well as European based multinationals Tesco and Carrefour.

The president of the Federation of private Services Workers' Unions Kim Hyung-Keun expressed the determination of his organisation to give the Korean Wal-Mart workers a voice. He also participated in the press conference arranged by the UNI KLC liaison council, saying that the Korean workers want Wal-Mart to change its approach and to accept a dialogue with the unions.

Of all these leading companies, only French Carrefour accepts a union presence, respects its global agreement with UNI / UNI Commerce, and approaches its operations from a viewpoint of social responsibility and dialogue. Tesco runs a joint venture with rabidly anti-union conglomerate Samsung, but is expected by UNI Commerce to get back into line when it soon takes over a majority ownership.

Now, the Korean workers will test the ground in world's largest retail company. Is Wal-Mart being honest when they say that they will accept a union if its workers form one, or is this said just in an effort to cover up an immoral and illegal anti-union behaviour.

Global union network is tightening up

The workers in Korea, and their unions, are an important part of the global trade union network which is tightening up to defend fundamental economic and social rights in Wal-Mart. Next week in Rome, UNI Commerce and UFCW will arrange a series of discussions with unions from different parts of the world, which aim to stepping up the joint activities. This will be followed by action in Hungary, Russia, Brazil and other countries which Wal-Mart has indicated to be on their priority lists for future growth and expansion.

UNI Commerce has offered Wal-Mart discussions about how a solution could be found to its present labour relations problems. Although a communications link now exists between UNI Commerce and the company's central offices, a meeting is yet to be accepted by the retail giant. In the meantime, the widespread reactions against its unsocial behaviour are taking its toll: Share prices are not developing well, and the lack of confidence in the company is a growing problem.