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The Carrefour workers' union in Korea will go on strike this weekend to give weight to defend their jobs when Carrefour terminates its presence in the country. Although not formally confirmed by the company, it is considered clear that the French retail multinational will sell out its hypermarket chain to one of its major competitors.

In Carrefour Korea, there is a strong union presence since years back. Labour relations have been strained, however, but last autumn a deal was finally made which calmed down the situation. This brought some relief, but particularly middle management continued to show their disdain for the workers and their union. Collective bargaining negotiations did not move forward, and the promised action to deal with sexual harassment incidents failed to materialise. Now, the workers and their union are prepared to fight for their jobs if or rather when a takeover happens. UNI Commerce has backed up their claims in contacts with the company, and will support the union action.

Tesco and Lotte are said to be the leading bidders for Carrefour's South Korean operations, but also Wal-Mart has been mentioned. The number one British retail multinational Tesco has a majority stake in Home Plus, a joint venture with Samsung. The Lotte Group is a leading Korean commerce and services conglomerate and operates a chain on Lotte Marts.

UNI Commerce has contacted Carrefour to support the union's demand that a job guarantee be included in any take-over agreement. The company was also told that a possible sale to Wal-Mart would be in violation of the global agreement between UNI / UNI Commerce and Carrefour, taking into account the abysmal labour relations record of the American retail giant.

Carrefour is a unionised retailer in Korea

Carrefour is one of the few unionised retail operators in Korea. There is, however, a long history of strained labour relations and hostile management approach to the local union.

After years of efforts, a first agreement on resolving the continuous labour strife was negotiated in Seoul last autumn, with the participation and support of UNI Commerce. Although overt violations of workers' rights ceased, collective bargaining negotiations were still not taken seriously by management. Particularly on the middle levels, many managers did not hide their anti-union feelings and continued treating their workers in a disrespectful manner. Several times, UNI Commerce had to intervene with the group's Paris headquarters to demand corrective action on the ground.

The French multinational is the fourth largest supermarket chain in the country. The market leader is E-Mart, owned by the Korean Shinsegae Group, followed by the Lotte Group and Tesco Samsung. In fifth place is Wal-Mart, who has reportedly also bid for Carrefour's Korean operations. All of these retailers have profiled themselves as being fervently anti-union.

Organising to start in Tesco Home Plus

Already before the news broke that Carrefour would be leaving Korea, UNI Commerce has been in contact with Tesco and told the British retail multinational that a trade union organising project will be launched in Home Plus. Tesco has recently acquired a controlling position in the joint venture and is clearly on its way to turn it into a normal subsidiary. This should remove all doubt about fundamental workers' and trade union rights, which Tesco has declared that it respects.

Wal-Mart was the target of a joint UNI Commerce / UFCW and Korean Private Services Union Federation demonstration in Seoul a few months ago. Organising activities and project cooperation are now being discussed with the union. When Wal-Mart bought the Makro stores in Korea, one of the conditions was that the small union that existed would be 'removed'.

UNI Commerce will support the Carrefour union's action next weekend, to defend the workers' jobs in the case of a takeover. We will also actively accompany the workers and their union in any change process, to make sure that their rights are not violated, whoever the new owner may be.