Turn of Events Leaves Labor Drive Out of Air
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
The nation's two largest umbrella labor unions have completely turned their backs on each other and it seems unlikely that the relationship will be fixed in the foreseeable future. This may be looked at later as the first crack in Korea's strong labor movement, which is wobbling under the pro-business Lee Myung-bak government.
The dispute came about after Jang Seok-chun, head of the Federation of Korea Trade Unions (FKTU), broke the tenuous partnership with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), and went alone into last-minute negotiations with the government and employers Friday.
In hindsight, if the KCTU, the more militant of the two, had trusted its rival, the FKTU, it would have been a strategic mistake. Even before the two forged a partnership for a general strike, the dovish FKTU had been in policy coordination meetings with the governing Grand National Party (GNP).
It was the GNP that played the key role in convincing hard-line government and business representatives to accept Jang's suggestion for changes on two key issues ㅡ the government's plan to allow multiple unions at workplaces and ban the payment of salary to full-time union leaders by companies.
Although the opposition Democratic Party is backing the KCTU in an effort to prevent the agreement from becoming law at the National Assembly, there are doubts that their effort will turn the tide.
KCTU leader Lim Sung-kyu refused to attend the meeting in protest of what he calls a scheme to make unions "toothless."
Lim called the FKTU a "betrayer."
"Our relationship with the FKTU is completely broken," Lim said. "We had been tied to each other under a strategic partnership. But the announcement was made without any notification in advance from the FKTU. They cheated us."
With a bill based on the results of the agreement to be reviewed at the National Assembly and possibly passed with GNP backing this month, Lim said, "If they don't renegotiate it with us, we will fight back with a general strike starting Dec. 16 or 17 at the earliest."
His vow, however, sounded hollow, considering that FKTU is no longer participating in what was supposed to be a joint strike. The progressive labor activist said his organization will make all-out efforts with the DP to strike down the amendment attempt.
Meanwhile, Rep. Kim Jae-yoon of the DP urged the GNP and the Ministry of Labor to renegotiate the controversial issues.
"The members participating do not represent the entire labor circle. The bill should be reviewed again," Kim said.
It's still unclear why FKTU pushed ahead with such sensitive issues without the approval of the KCTU. Experts say the move could have been predicted, citing the FKTU's closeness to the ruling party and its business-friendly policies.