Tuesday, November 10, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
LABOUR-LATAM: Local Workers Feud with Foreign Employers
Marcela Valente
- Differences in the work mentality of Latin America and Asia have led to confrontation between local regional workers and foreign employers.
In Argentina, where unemployment has reached 18.4 percent, the problem has mainly occurred between Argentine, Peruvian, Paraguayan and Bolivian workers on one hand, and Korean textile producers on the other.
Korean employers provide work for 7,000 people in the Flores area of Buenos Aires, many of them illegal immigrants. There are some 700 Korean textile businesses in the country, mostly with staff numbers of less that 100.
South Korea’s ambassador in Buenos Aires, Key Sung Cho, told IPS that there is a “clash of mentalities between the orientals and Latin Americans,” which is reflected in language, food and their attitude to work.
“The Korean is a work addict, accustomed to hard work, and it is difficult to find this type of worker in other countries,” said Key. “In America, workers call for rights before meeting their production goals; in Korea its the other way round.”
This difference shows in output, Key said, with 60 workers producing 700 articles per day in Korea, while the workforce in Argentina barely reaches 550.
Workers in Chile have accused foreign employers of being “slave drivers” while the employers claim these accusations are based on racial discrimination.
In December, Argentine authorities punished a group of three Korean employers whose workers were living and working in “inhuman” conditions in textile factories.
Similar complaints were made about working conditions aboard seven Korean ships operating in Argentine waters.
Key said, however, Koreans lived in similar conditions, and that it is their high valuation of work which forces them to work so hard, not the wish to exploit.
Marcelo Siddig, an Argentine textile merchant, said that the Korean business concerns were definitely competitive, “They meet their production deadlines, pay on time and have an impressive work capacity,” he said.
Key said that some of his compatriots found the labour attitudes of Latin America incomprehensible, although he admitted employers had been guilty of excesses.
He said Korean entrepreneurs preferred Central America because “there is a more favourable atmosphere for Korean investment there, because the population has a production rate nearer to that of our nation.”
They particularly like Guatemala where; “The indigenous community have an inherent talent and capacity for manual activities,” said Key.
He also acknowledged that the workforce there was very cheap, something which makes for worker obedience; “you can get a lot of workers for five dollars per eight hour day in Guatemala,” he said.
A tour of the Korean neighbourhood is testimony to the resentment felt by the Argentinians, as the streets peppered with signs in Korean are also daubed with racist insults against the immigrants.
As a result of the attitude of local workers, many Korean businesses have closed in recent years, with the local Korean population falling from 45,000 in 1990 to 32,000 in 1995. No new Korean immigrants applied for residence last year, according to authorities.
Key said this lack of immigration could be a result of improved conditions in Korea.
South Korea is expanding at at rate of 7.5 percent per year, with exports worth 120 billion dollars, five times the Argentine figure. “Korea is even inviting 500,000 guest workers to join its industry,” he said.
While the invitation is open to all nationalities the workers mainly come from neighbouring Asian states, and few of the Southern Cone’s unemployed are expected to take up the offer, he said.
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LABOUR-LATAM: Local Workers Feud with Foreign Employers
Marcela Valente
- Differences in the work mentality of Latin America and Asia have led to confrontation between local regional workers and foreign employers.
(more…)
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