As dusk set in and the breeze took the edge off the heat Thursday, Udaya Rai, head of the nation’s first migrant workers’ union, gave a victory speech in front of a large crowd to mark the end of their weekslong sit-in.

“My friends, the migrant workers’ trade union finally received authorization from the government to set up a labor union,” Rai, who heads the Seoul-Gyeonggi-Incheon Migrants’ Trade Union, said in front of some 100 migrant workers and their supporters who gathered to celebrate the “historic” day last week.

The celebratory event kicked off at 7 p.m., with Rai chanting “We won!” in front of the Seoul office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, where Rai and the union members staged a sit-in day and night for three weeks in the blazing heat.

“(As the union is now officially registered,) let’s not hesitate to mobilize ourselves to fight abusive employers and discriminatory treatment,” Rai said. “Now, the day to achieve basic labor rights for migrant workers is nearing. Let’s fight together through collective action.”

The crowd, consisting mostly of human rights activists and civic groups, erupted in cheers as a four-member Pakistani band took the stage to perform. As the night went on, the street next to the ministry building turned into a party venue, with participants sharing food and drinks.

The authorization came nearly two months after the Supreme Court legalized the union, and a month after the labor ministry refused to issue a permit for the establishment of the MTU, taking issue with what it called “politically oriented clauses” in the union’s bylaws.

“In the labor union’s original rules, there were some contents against the upper law,” Oh Yeong-min, an official from the ministry, told The Korea Herald. “The purpose of setting up a trade union shouldn’t be politically motivated.”

The ministry demanded that the union water down phrases like “legalization of unregistered migrant workers in Korea” and “abolishment of the Employment Permit System,” which prompted the union to launch an around-the-clock sit-in protest.

Under the EPS, unskilled workers from 15 nations are allowed to enter Korea to work for up to three years. But migrant workers and civic groups have accused the system of favoring employers, giving them leeway to exploit migrant workers.

According to government data, the number of migrant workers legally staying in Korea on the EPS visa stood at more than 270,000 at the end of last year, with 52,760 in the country illegally.

Suk Kwon-ho, an official from the nation’s second-largest trade union, the Korean Confederation of Trade Union, said that behind the refusal was the government’s “allergy” to trade unions and the mobilization of workers.

“Mobilizing workers and founding a labor union are, of course, political activities to have our voices heard in the Korean society,” Suk told The Korea Herald. “The government was just afraid of laborers being mobilized to fix a flawed structure and institution.”

Indeed, a significant number of KCTU members were present at the rally, supporting the foreign workers’ fight in the name of “solidarity.”

“Laborers, regardless of nationality, should join forces to fight against capitalists’ low-income policy,” Suk said. “Migrant workers here are at the bottom of the income ladder, with many of them being enslaved by employers.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling was historic, as it stated that migrant workers residing in Korea, could set up and join a trade union, whether they were here legally or not. The court recognized foreign workers that were in breach of immigration law as being entitled to labor rights in accordance with the nation’s labor law, 10 years after the group filed a lawsuit in 2005.

Celebrations after the ruling were quickly subdued following the ministry’s refusal to recognize the union. While the MTU was “disappointed,” it decided to change what was viewed as “politically oriented” to gain legal status.

“We have fought for 10 years, and if we didn’t compromise, it could take 10 more years to establish a trade union,” Shekh Al Mamun, a deputy head of the MTU, told The Korea Herald.

Some radical civic groups voiced concerns over the MTU’s decision, viewing it as a compromise. But the MTU said it pushed for changing the phrases to move forward.

“When the conventional way of protests doesn’t work, there needs to be a change in the technique,” Mamun said.

The ministry finally accepted the application after the MTU changed its purpose of establishment to “improving the social and economic status of migrant workers,” shelving the goal to abolish the EPS system and grant amnesty to illegally residing migrant workers, at least on paper.

“The rephrased statements in the bylaws, however, don’t change what we stand for or erode our spirit for resistance,” he said.

The MTU wrote a new chapter in migrant workers’ history in Korea, but the union members said it was only the beginning, expecting a tougher road ahead to dispel negative perceptions toward foreign laborers here.

The unusual scene, with foreign workers’ voices blaring from the loudspeakers at the sit-in protest in central Seoul, was enough to turn many heads, but passers-by walked indifferently past the campaigners.

“Koreans pity us, but don’t respect us,” the union leader Rai pointed out. “Many of them think we are poor and try to help us, but when we raise our voices, they point a finger at us.”

According to the 2010-2014 World Values Survey of 1,200 Koreans, 34 percent of respondents had hostile feelings about multiethnic residents, and 44 percent felt negative about migrant workers in Korean society. The level of Koreans’ acceptance of other races ranked 51st out of 59 surveyed countries.

But Rai remains hopeful as the growing levels of both support and dissent mean there has been progress in raising awareness of migrant workers in Korean society. “It was unimaginable to hold a sit-in in front of the government building 10 years ago.”

Another challenge facing the MTU is to diversify its membership to increase its representation. The MTU currently has some 1,100 members mostly from Southeast and Central Asia.

“We have fought hard, but could not reach out to migrant workers from various backgrounds, though a trade union is driven by the power of union members,” Mamun said.

The MTU plans to travel across the nation to meet with migrant workers, educate them about their labor rights, and persuade them to join the union to garner support for the greater collective action.

“We will continue the fight until the day we are recognized as part of society by more actively raising voices for migrant workers as well as the marginalized in society,” Mamun said. “We have a long road ahead.”

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)