South Korea government plans first talks with striking truckers

South Korea’s government plans to meet the country’s striking truckers’ union for talks on Monday (Nov 28) for the first time since a nationwide walkout began five days ago, as supply chain glitches worsened and construction sites faced concrete shortages.

With supplies of cement and fuel for gas stations running short, the government has elevated its warning of cargo transport disruption due to the strike to “serious”, the highest level in its disruption scale, the transport ministry said on Monday.

But a union statement on Sunday offered little prospect of a breakthrough in the dispute. “The transport ministry’s position is already set, and there is no room for negotiations, so this meeting is not a negotiation … the content is a demand for an unconditional return to work,” the union said.

The second major strike in less than six months by thousands of unionized truckers for better pay and working conditions was criticized last week by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol as taking the nation’s logistics “hostage” in the face of an economic crisis.

“We need to establish a rule of law between labor and management,” Yoon said on Monday, according to the presidential office. Yoon will personally preside over a cabinet meeting on Tuesday which will consider a “workforce order” demanding striking truckers return to their jobs, his office said.

According to South Korean law, during a serious disruption to transport, the government may issue an order to force transport workers back to their jobs. Failure to comply is punishable by up to three years in jail, or a fine of up to 30 million won (US$22,550).

The strike organizer, the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union (CTSU), has criticized the government for only being willing to expand the minimum-pay ‘Safe Freight Rate’ system for three more years, instead of making it permanent and expanding its application as the union demands.

Agencies