By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Korean Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU)'s plan to go on a one-day general strike on July 2 against the resumption of American beef imports is receiving lukewarm public reaction.
While the truckers' action is virtually freezing related logistics and manufacturing fields, skepticism is arising over whether the non-labor related strike would benefit society, or the workers themselves for that matter.
At the union of Hyundai Motor, one of the most influential affiliates of the group, the voting for the walkout did not meet the legitimate line and many workers have complained that it is time to stop strikes over non-labor issues. Analysts say without the help of Hyundai Motor and other powerful affiliates, the move will have far less impact on the market and society than the union hopes.
Under the current Labor Law, a strike should only concern the working environment. Therefore, calling for scrapping the beef deal would be 100 percent illegal, labor ministry spokesman Song Bong-geun said.
Lee Seok-haeng, the head of the KCTU, refuted this saying that the beef issue is not just political, but an everyday-living issue for workers. ``If the beef is imported, then non-permanent workers and other low-income earners will be the first ones to eat it, which could affect their health. If they are not healthy then how could they work? The beef is about labor rights.''
However, some criticize Lee and his groups.
``Union members as well as people do not want things to get more complicated and difficult by another strike of KCTU. It's time the group stopped repeating its old habit,'' said Kim Dong-won, a professor of economics at Korea University.
Prof. Cho Joon-mo of Sungkyunkwan University pointed out that even people are tired of the economic ``chaos'' and want no more fuss. ``The truckers' case was all about bread-and-butter issues and won public sympathy but KCTU seems to want a free ride on something completely different,'' he said.
On the other hand, some defended the group since political strikes were sometimes accepted in Korea. ``There is a case where a court acknowledged such a political walkout was not illegal,'' Eun Soo-mi, researcher at Korea Labor Institute, said.
``In Europeans countries, where they guarantee labor rights like Korea, they tend to be generous to political union action related to them such as against company restructuring and demands on the government. I think the beef issue would fall under this category,'' she said.
Though the nation has decades of history in political strikes, she said people became quite cynical to walkouts recently, after the Asian financial crisis in 1997, when economic growth became the most important thing. ``Suddenly walkouts became a hindrance to development, to which I say `no.'''
The state-run think-tank researcher said the government could be more flexible on the issue. Referring to Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han's statement that the government may do whatever it takes to end the strike, she said rigid countermeasures could adversely affect the society as a whole.