Argentina

Han was imprisoned at the end of 2015 after a court in Seoul condemned him to a five years jail for organizing and being part of the massive protest of the November 14
The former president of the Korean Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU), who was unfairly imprisoned for defending the labor rights against the corporate greed in his country, will be this Saturday 12 August 2018  in the headquarters of the CTA-Autónoma in gratitude to the solidarity actions develop by the CTA along with SIGTUR network and unions from all around the globe for his freedom.
 
Han Sang-gyun was imprissioned for two years, five months of a five years sentence. “The fight for Han is an example of workers of all the world who fight against the big transnational corporate greed”, affirmed Fito Aguirre, Secretary of International Relations of CTA.
 
Han Sang-gyun was sentenced to an imprisonment of five years falsely accused of “leading a violent protest” of 130.000 persons against the corrupt government of Park Geun-hye in November 2015. That struggle of the KCTU -with which the CTA-Autónomoa is part of the Southern Initiative on Globalisation and Trade Union Rights (SIGTUR)- stimulated series of big protest know as the “candle vigil”, which gathered millions of people.
 
The 5 year sentence was for organizing and being part of  the massive protest in Seoul calling for an end to precarized work and respect of the right to organize, strike, collective bargaining and fair salaries.
 
130.000 people were repressed by the police with tear gases and water cannons, which the tribunal considered as legal actions. The sentence of Han was the most hard since 1987 against a trade union leader.
 
Since the creation of the KCTU in the decade of 90’s, Han and other members of the organization suffered harassment and criminalization because of their fight for better working conditions and working rights. During the 2015 were initiated lawsuits against 585 leaders of this central. “That attack to the human and labor rights is the response of the globalized capitalism -allied with the governments in charge- against who confront face to face the big transnational corporations, which search to increase their profits at the expense of the decent life of the workers, passing over the state sovereignty and the international right standards”, denounced Fito Aguirre.
 
The secretary of International Relationships remember that “the CTA-Autonomous take the decision of mobilize many times as necessary until get the freedom of Han. Since the beginning of 2016 and until June of the present year we mobilized repeatedly to the South Korea Embassy in Argentina, we sent letters to the president Moon and we held meetings with the consular authorities to take the request for the immediate liberation of Han, as well as the request of stop the social protest criminalization and persecution”.
 
The CTA leader celebrated that “the leader of the KCTU visits our CTA-Autónoma in thanks to the successfully campaign for his liberation which is part of the international principles of our central which round about three pillars: international supports to the Palestine cause; denounce of the economic block against Venezuela; and the freedom of Han Sang-gyun, Lee and of all the brothers and sisters of the KCTU”.
 
“The international solidarity has played a central role to confront the globalized capital”, finish Aguirre.
IMF in Argentina in the context of the G20 agenda this year means several damages for the workers’ rights while transnational corporations strength their power over states and people
TA Autónoma along with civil and social organizations demonstrated last Saturday 21th July to express their rejection to the presence of Christine Lagarde and the IMF in Argentina as part of the G20 agenda.
 
Under the slogan “IMF Never Again”, a wide group of organizations gathered near the Center of Conventions of Buenos Aires, where the meeting with IMF was held, to express their reject to the stand by agreement with the IMF asked by the argentine government last month, as well as to condemn the subjection of the country to the austerity policies demanded by the international credit organizations.
 
CTA IMF 1
 
The presence of the IMF in Argentina in the context of the G20 agenda this year means several damages for the workers’ rights while transnational corporations strength their power over states and people. 
 
This ratifies our role as a peripheral country in the international working division. A model based on the economic adjustment by precarization, workers dismissals and cut of rights.
 
This is why different union, civil and social organizations got together and marched on the streets to shout out loud that the working class will not remain still while big corporations in alliance with governments seek for increase their profits at the expense of workers living conditions and indebting the people. Corporate greed and external debt can’t run our lives. ¡We will defend our sovereignty, rights and jobs!