Carrefour and Korean commerce trade union sign groundbreaking agreement

(14 October)

Carrefour and Korean commerce union sign groundbreaking agreement

French retail multinational Carrefour and the Korean Federation of Private Service Workers' Unions (KPSU) have signed a groundbreaking agreement that will put an end to years of mistrust and poor labour relations. The deal was negotiated with the support and participation of UNI Commerce and the company's Paris-based central management.

The document that was signed yesterday by the company's county director Philippe Broianigo and KPSU president Kim Hyung-Keun is directly based on the global agreement between Carrefour and UNI / UNI Commerce on workers' and trade union rights and social dialogue. It was negotiated earlier this autumn in Seoul, with the participation of Carrefour's international human resource director Jean-Luc Delenne, Jan Furstenborg of UNI Commerce and Jay Choi, UNI's representative in Korea.

Kim Kyung-Wook is the president of the Carrefour workers' trade union in Korea. During his time in office, the union has grown considerably and developed into an efficient tool for the workers in defending and promoting their interests. The new agreement is expected to support a further growth, but also to promote a collective agreement development, which is badly needed to improve the often difficult economic and social conditions of the workers.

A particular problem in South Korea is that the country's retail sector is still rather poorly organised. Thus, most of the main competitors do not have a union presence. In cooperation with the private services workers federation, UNI Commerce is now stepping up its support for organising and trade union development activities.

In the new agreement, Carrefour declares that it will fully respect the global agreement also in its Korean operations. It recognises the union of its employees, which is part of the Federation, and has already set about to negotiate a new collective agreement. Some of the previous issues of contention will now be addressed jointly by the local partners, with a view of finding workable solutions and building up the necessary confidence.

Also UNI Commerce and the central management in Paris will participate in defining the implementation in practice of the global agreement, and will early next year work out joint suggestions to the local partners on how to solve any remaining problem issues.

Through the new agreement, Carrefour is showing the way for the retail industry in South Korea in applying international labour conventions and entering into a constructive dialogue with its personnel. Its main competitors - E-Mart, Wal-Mart and Samsung-Tesco - are notorious for their anti-union attitudes in Korea. UNI Commerce and KPSU have already intensified their cooperation to organise and bring about a change also in these companies.

Particularly Tesco, which has committed itself to correct labour relations behaviour, is expected to change its Korean practice, particularly in connection with its increased ownership and responsibility of the joint venture with Samsung. In South Korea, Samsung has come to epitomise a hostile approach towards trade unions and trade unionists, but taking Tesco's majority stake in the joint venture, this is no excuse for the British retailer.

Wal-Mart workers in North America received a strong solidarity support from their South Korean trade union colleagues. At a demonstration in Seoul late September, they sent a strong message to world's number one retailer, calling on it to change its behaviour.

Also Wal-Mart has been under heavy criticism and pressure for its anti-union stance in Korea. When the company took over a Korean store chain and established itself in the country, a condition was reportedly that the existing trade union had to be destroyed first. Earlier this autumn, a demonstration was held by the KPSU in front of a Wal-Mart store in the Korean capital, calling on 'poverty maker' Wal-Mart to enter into a global social dialogue with UNI Commerce.