They were acting in response to urgent calls from embattled Korean unions for messages and photos of support and for protests outside Korean embassies. The support has been made even more vital by continuing government and police action against strikers, unions and union members.
ITF unions staged 11 coordinated embassy actions on Wednesday alone, and sent countless photos and messages of support These followed directly on from two union missions to South Korea, the first to witness the deliberate targeting of trade union leaders and the second to observe and support the strikes.
ITF president Paddy Crumlin commented: “This onslaught of support and strength for our Korean friends shows what international solidarity looks like. Now we need to show what it can achieve. We must keep the pressure unrelentingly on the Korean government until its plans are abandoned and all our colleagues are freed."
Steve Cotton, ITF general secretary said that ITF unions had set an example to the world in the solidarity they had shown their Korean colleagues, and promised that they would be supported until all the attacks on unions in the country had ceased and the imprisoned union leaders freed.
There’s till time to help Korean trade unions. Visit www.koreanstrike4justice.org to find out how, and follow the news at www.facebook.com/ITFglobal and on Twitter using the hashtag #KoreanStrike4Justice.
