"ITUC Calls on Korean President to Stop Samsung Vietnam Abuse," 22 March 2018

The International Trade Union Confederation has put threats against factory workers and labour activists in Samsung’s Vietnamese factories on top of the agenda for President Moon Jae-in during his visit to the country.

In a letter to the Korean leader, Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, highlighted the risks to human and labour rights in Samsung’s operations and urged the President to engage Samsung...to address grievances and ensure that the company carries out human rights due diligence with respect to Samsung subsidiaries and suppliers.

“Samsung’s track record of human and labour rights abuses has been exposed in nearly every country where they operate. ...” said Sharan Burrow.

Pressure on Samsung’s operations in Vietnam has been growing since evidence emerged from the Hanoi-based Research Centre for Gender, Family, Environment and Development (CGFED) and IPEN ...showed workers were not shown how to protect themselves from toxic chemicals used to manufactured mobile phones.

UN human rights experts expressed their concern this week about the harassment and intimidation of workers who spoke about their conditions at work. Workers have been asked to present themselves to government authorities and threatened with lawsuits.

Samsung Electronics is Vietnam’s largest foreign investor employing nearly 137,000 workers in two plants in the country, manufacturing 50% of the company’s mobile phones.

The ITUC report, Modern Technology, Medieval Conditions pieced together the global scandal of Samsung’s worldwide operations from Brazil to Korea, and a multimedia documentary showed conditions in Samsung’s supply chain in Indonesia and the Philippines.

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Note:

ITUC's letter is here.

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre published a story on this issue and it can be read here.