By Lee Kyung-min
An umbrella union is continuing its drive to have the upper hand in the introduction of a basic wage of 10,000 won ($8.8) per hour.
While a 10-day strike participated in by more than 40,000 members of various unions ended Saturday, their “struggle” continues as nothing has changed, organizers said Sunday.
More than 1,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held their last rally of the strike, which began June 29, Sunday under the name “the social general strike.”
The event was organized to demand President Moon Jae-in promptly deliver his campaign pledge of raising the hourly minimum wage to 10,000 won and abolishing irregular positions.
“We ousted former President Park Geunh-hye. But since the Moon Jae-in administration has settled in, nothing has changed for us,” KCTU official Choi Jong-jin said.
“Our lives continue to suffer under the harshest conditions. We ask President Moon to immediately exercise his determination and power to resolve the thorny labor issues,” he added.
His remarks are in line with demands thus far by the umbrella union that claims to be the main contributor in electing Moon to the highest office.
“We were the core supporters that helped President Moon get where he is. Now it is time for him to listen to our demands,” the KCTU said.
Earlier last month, in a letter written from prison, KCTU chief Han Sang-kyun justified the strike, saying, “The June general strike is to demand the Moon administration implement responsible measures without giving in to pressure from the establishment.” Han was jailed for orchestrating a massive illegal anti-government rally in 2015.
Similarly, during the first meeting of the government's job creation committee June 21, Kim Ju-young, president of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), the country’s second, smaller umbrella union, stressed its crucial contribution to helping Moon take office.
“We recommended a set of labor policies to President Moon and pledged our support as an equal. We are unsure about whether President Moon used us to advance his political ambition,” Kim said. Sixteen KCTU-affiliated unions participated in the 10-day strike, including the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union and the Civil Servant Union. Some union members, ranging from irregular workers in the public sector _ from cleaners to construction workers _ staged a rally in front of Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul.
The KCTU called for the withdrawal of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery; the release of its chief Han; and the nullification of a sex slavery deal reached with Japan in December 2015.
It also raised the issue of the death of Baek Nam-ki, a farmer who died months after being in a coma following being hit by police water cannon in a 2015 rally, calling for the punishment of those responsible.