18 Amendments of Klaus BUCHNER related to 2015/2059(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
– having regard to the Report on the Rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association (A/71/385) 1a , presented to the United Nations General Assembly during its 71st session on Oct. 20, 2016 __________________ 1a http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp ?symbol=A/71/385&referer=/english/〈=E
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 b (new)
Citation 16 b (new)
– having regard to the "Opinion on the Fundamental rights at work in the Republic of Korea, identification of areas for action"1a of 29 May 2013 by the Domestic Advisory Group under the EU- Korea Free Trade Agreement, __________________ 1a http://www.eesc.europa.eu/resources/docs/ eu-dag-opinion-on-labour- standards_en.pdf
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 c (new)
Citation 16 c (new)
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the fact that the Agreement has led to a significant growth in trade between the EU and Korea and highlights that for a comprehensive assessment of the economic consequences according to the 'Trade for all – Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy' strategy, the economic evaluation of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement should include reliable evaluations on the impact on consumer welfare, namely changes in purchasing power, product choice and price changes in affected sectors;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points out that the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement, like other agreements on free trade, services and investments, has a positive impact on the socio- economic development of the parties to the Agreement, on economic integration, on sustainable development, and on bringing countries and their citizens closer together; points out that specific analysis of the trade impact on every EU Member State respectively would be necessary in order to determine and counteract any potentially harming trade imbalances inside the European Union;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the efforts of the Civil Society Forum and of the internal advisory groups set up in accordance with the provisions set out in the chapter on trade and sustainable development; recalls that both parties are obligedurges the European Commission to react to the failure of the Korean Government to uphold, promote and implement commitments on core labour rights in their laws and practices; Namely the failure to ratify the remaining four fundamental Conventions on freedom from forced labour (No. 29 and No. 105) and freedom of association and collective bargaining (No. 87 and No. 98);
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Is alarmed about current and recent cases of the Korean government charging union officials and members under its penal law and seeking imprisonment sentences and fines that aim at curbing unionization and industrial action;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Is concerned about the severe jail charges that the President of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), Mr Sang-gyun Han, and other leading figures of the organisation are facing in regards to alleged general obstruction of traffic; special obstruction of public duty; special obstruction of public duty injuring police officers; special destruction of public goods; violation of the Act on Assembly and Demonstration;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Notes the problematic reaction and legal measures to the overwhelmingly peaceful protest in the November 2015 'peoples rally', by the Korean Government as Identified by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly and Association, Maina Kiai and emphasizes that charging peaceful assembly participants with criminal offenses violates the right to peaceful assembly;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5d. Is concerned that the government of Korea continues to interfere in collective bargaining with the effect of decreasing unions' bargaining power; making it more difficult for unions to negotiate and to amending existing collective agreements reached between employers and trade unions;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5e. Welcomes that the Government of Korea followed the recommendation of the Domestic Advisory Group (DAG) to recognise and register the Migrants' Trade Union (MTU) and calls on the Korean Government to take further steps to improve the working conditions of its migrant workers and stop their exploitation;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 f (new)
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5f. Notes that the Republic of Korea faces eight standing cases before the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) and is concerned about its lack of commitment to comply with CFA recommendations;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 g (new)
Paragraph 5 g (new)
5g. Is concerned that the highlighted shortcomings in Korean national law in regards to labour rights commitments under the trade and sustainable development chapter in the 2013 DAG "Opinion on the Fundamental rights at work in the Republic of Korea, identification of areas for action" have been largely ignored by the Korean Government according to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which is a member of the DAG;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 h (new)
Paragraph 5 h (new)
5h. Is concerned that the legally non- binding Guidelines to advise employers, unilaterally issued in January 2016 by the Government of the Republic of Korea, go against the spirit of the commitments laid out in the EU-Korea FTA in regards to labour rights commitments and Korean national laws. In particular, the guidelines, if implemented, endanger the right of collective bargaining and the right to organise by, among other measures, easing the requirements for the dismissal of workers and regulations on change in employment rules and extending the term limit of fixed-term contracts;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 – introductory part
Paragraph 7 – introductory part
7. Acknowledges that, while the Agreement meets the expectations of the parties to a large extend, the following issues should be analysed and verified under the Agreement:
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 – point d a (new)
Paragraph 7 – point d a (new)
(da) the environmental and animal welfare impact brought about by the FTA: increased industrial and toxic waste production; oil and heavy metal pollution of the ocean; increased CO2-emmissions due to increased transport and trade in especially high-performance cars;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Supports the further deepening of mutually beneficial trade and investment relations between the EU and Korea and the involvement of the parties to the Agreement in creating further economic growth and sustainable development for the benefit of EU and Korean citizens, workers, SMEs and the environment as laid out in the Commissions 'Trade for all – Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy' strategy;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Highlights the European Commission's goal to set up a permanent multilateral International Investment Court that would replace all investment dispute resolution mechanisms in current and future FTAs in light of Article 7.16 on the "Review of the investment legal framework" in the EU-Korea FTA in respect to the possible deepening of provisions on investment protection in the review process of the FTA;