Railway workers stage a protest on the first day of their strike in front of Seoul Station in downtown Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times |
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
There appears to be no way out of a nationwide strike by millions of workers next month, after talks involving union representatives, the government and business leaders broke down Wednesday.
In news conferences, the unions threatened to stage a strike in the middle of December. The government, led by pro-business President Lee Myung-bak, is showing no signs of compromising.
The employers are sitting on the sidelines but they appear to be unwilling to make any concessions.
At the center of the dispute is the government’s push for the implementation of a revised Labor Law that has been put on ice for 13 years.
If it is implemented, from next year as scheduled, employers will no longer have to pay wages to full-time unionists. In addition, the present rule of one union per workplace will be abolished.
The unionists see it as a ploy to undermine them, while businessmen are taking it as a chance to tame militant trade unions. The breakdown of the talks came as the parties involved found no room for compromise.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the militant union group, and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), the erstwhile dove, attacked the plan, arguing that eliminating pay for full-time union leaders was unacceptable. The two umbrella groups are joining hands in a rare show of solidarity.
However, Labor Minister Yim Tae-hee walked out of the conference room in Yeouido, Wednesday, saying, “There will be no more talks.” Lim is the point man for President Lee in labor affairs, vowing in public that Korea’s militant union movement is the most backward among advanced nations and poses a major threat to continued economic growth.
The KCTU said Thursday that they were not ready to back down.
“The government and businessmen give nothing but pain and toil to people. It’s time to hear the music,” it said in a press release. KCTU leader Lim Sung-kyu said that the organization was ready to go on strike.
The FKTU will also hold a vote among its affiliated unions from Saturday over whether to go on a strike or not.
Jang Seok-chun, the FKTU head, said the honeymoon period was over. “The general strike will be all or nothing,” he said.
If realized, this will be their first joint strike in 12 years. In 1997, more than three million workers of the two umbrella groups participated in a solidarity strike. State prosecutors said Thursday that no illegal strikes would be condoned.
Meanwhile, the Korean Railway Workers’ Union started a strike Thursday.
While the effect was not significant on the first day, if prolonged, it will cause greater inconvenience for subway commuters and train users. KORAIL CEO Huh Joon-young urged workers to go back to work but his call fell on a deaf ears. The Rail Workers’ union, under the wing of the FKTU, said the strike would go on indefinitely until management withdrew its rationalization plan.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
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