Corea, República de - Economic and Social Development Commission (2013)

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) reported that consultations with the Economic and Social Development Commission (ESDC) were not effectively conducted. The agreements reached in the ESDC do not have a binding character. Instead, the ESDC intervenes in issues which should be left to bipartite negotiations between employers and unions such as wages and working hours. Moreover, the ESDC has been criticised for selecting members who are closer to employers rather than representing public interests broadly. On 23 December 2013, the FKTU walked out of the ESDC in protest to the government’s raid on the offices of the KCTU in relation to the strike of the Korean Railway Workers’ Union (KRWU).