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The International Labour Organisation ILO asks the Korean Labour Minister to do everything possible to secure the release of E.Land trade union president Kim Kyung-wook from custody. Kim was arrested last Friday when riot police stormed picketing shop workers at a Homever hypermarket in Seoul's World Cup Stadium.

The intervention was a result of UNI alerting the ILO about the strange situation where negotiations to resolve the labour conflict at E.Land continue but the union president is detained. Writing on behalf of the International Laboor Organisation, executive director Kari Tapiola says that if a negotiated settlement is sought, as it should, the presence of the President of the union concerned would seem to be absolutely necessary.

UNI continues to follow the situation closely, both on the spot in Seoul and at its Nyon Headquarters.

The labour strife erupted when E.Land dismissed hundreds of so-called non-regular workers in order to avoid giving them permanent contracts as required by a new law, as of 1 July this year. Apparently, the company intended to get rid of more that 1,000 workers and to substitute them with employees rented from temporary employment agencies.

For more stories and pictures on the E.Land workers' struggle, go to the dedicated UNI Commerce webpage:

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