Teachers’ Union to start an annual leave

Teachers’ union will fight using all possible means including a collective annual leave before the government withdraws its legal recognition, according to the union.

At the emergency conference at the union’s head office in Seoul on Monday, the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union (KTU) said, “It is unconstitutional and excessive for the government to cancel the union simply because we did not follow its order that we must exclude dismissed teachers.” It also said it would not follow the order that it should bring 76 union members back to school.

The union said it would file an injunction and a suit to cancel the decision when the Employment and Labor Ministry sends a notice outlawing the union on Thursday. The union sued the Ministry to the International Labor Organization on Monday. It plans to file a petition to the United Nations Human Rights Council this month and ask the U.N. Special Rapporteur to visit Korea.

It will hold a media conference to condemn the government when the ministry sends a notice and visits the presidential office as a sign of protest. Each union chapter will wage a protest at the end of this month.

Kim Jeong-hoon, the representative of the union, said, “Please pay attention to what caused the annual leave protest. We’re devising detailed action plans which can strike a chord with the people and minimize the impact on students.”

The union decided to hold a nationwide candlelight vigil once a week. It will hold a joint class around Students’ Day on Nov.3, and explain teachers’ basic labor rights and students’ human rights.

When the Employment and Labor Ministry sends a notice to the union, the Education Ministry will request the return of union members and office lease expenses. An Education Ministry source said, “If the union becomes an outlaw organization, union members will have no cause for a leave. If they do not return, this can be a cause of a disciplinary action. We set a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on the union-related issues.”

Local education offices seem to have differing views over the conflict between the government and the union. The Seoul Office of Education is highly unlikely to pay subsidies to projects led by the union. A local education office source said, “Making the union illegal means all channels between the Seoul Education Office and the union will be closed.”

Parents’ associations criticized the way the union wages a protest. The Parents’ Association for Public Education and the Seoul Lifetime Education Association said, “The union’s annual leave struggle clearly violates students’ right to learn. We can’t let teachers who ignore laws teach our children.”