7/27/2023 0 Comments Kctu general strikeThe drivers point out that their demands are for “safe rates” to ensure safe and healthy working conditions. They have also called for minimum pay guarantees for truckers in other sectors, including for those transporting fuel, chemicals, steel, automobiles, and package deliveries, among others. Truck drivers are demanding the permanent institution of the existing temporary minimum freight rate system, set to expire by the end of December, for shipping containers and cement truck drivers. ITF’s General Secretary Stephen Cotton said that the use of supposed “emergency laws to force workers to return to work while they are exercising their fundamental right to strike constitutes to forced labor.” For ‘Safe Rates’ In a statement released on December 2, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) strongly condemned the “crude attempt at strike breaking.” The Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union (CTSU), which represents the 25,000 truck drivers currently on strike, called the order “undemocratic and anti-constitutional,” and noted that it only demonstrated the government’s unwillingness to negotiate in good faith.Ĭondemnation of the government’s move has also come from around the world. It has been roundly criticized not just by the striking truck drivers but also established trade unions. This strike-busting move by the Yoon administration has been the first of its kind in South Korea since the 2004 act was passed. The vague ‘emergency’ clause has been subject to criticism for giving broad and undefined powers to the government to break strikes.ĭefying the order carries with it huge penalties, ranging from the cancellation of licenses, to hefty fines of up to KRW 30 million (nearly USD 23,000), or even prison sentences of up to three years. The back-to-work order is based on the controversial Trucking Transport Business Act, passed in 2004, that allows the government to order drivers to return to work if the national economy is at risk or during an emergency. On Tuesday, November 29, the cabinet passed an unprecedented order targeting nearly 2,500 cement truck drivers at more than 200 companies to return to work or face penalties. Strikers have currently targeted a select few domestic sectors such as construction, chemicals, automobiles, and gas supply. This is the second such nationwide action by them this year. Over 25,000 truck drivers have been on a prolonged strike since November 23. According to reports, the confederation accused the government of oppression and ignoring the plight of the truckers and their financial struggles in the face of spiraling fuel costs. The KCTU protest in Seoul comes at a time when the government of President Yoon Suk-yeol is threatening striking truckers with more back-to-work orders, after imposing them earlier this week. The protest march was organized by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the largest trade union confederations in the country, to coincide with the completion of 10 days of a nationwide truckers’ strike. On Saturday, December 3, trade unions in South Korea took out a massive march to the National Assembly in Seoul to protest against strike-busting by the conservative government.
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