Yoon orders to review options against truckers strike

Dec 01, 2022, 08:42 am

		0
Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary for press affairs, speaks in a media briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on Nov. 30, 2022./ Source: Pool photo

AsiaToday reporter Lee Wook-jae

President Yoon Suk-yeol has ordered the authorities Wednesday to review various options, including the abolition of a freight rate system guaranteeing basic wages for truck drivers, in relation to the cargo unions’ collective transportation refusal.

The fact that the government is reviewing a plan to completely abolish the freight rate system, which was the background of the general strike of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity, indicates that the government is determined not to be pushed back in a power struggle between the government and the labor union.

Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary for press affairs, said in a briefing that the government is reviewing ‘various options under the instruction of President Yoon’ in relation to the general strike.

The government hinted the possibility of a complete abolition of the freight rate system to the cargo union, which demanded an extension of the freight rate system. The government expressed its strong willingness to respond sternly if the cargo union does not come to the negotiating table.

“The government is in the process of firmly establishing the rule of law between labor and management,” the spokesperson said. “If the government does not resolve labor-management issues in accordance with the laws and principles, and compromise case by case, it could lead to another strike or illegal act.”

“We will respond sternly to strikes that hold the people as hostages or deprive low-wage workers of their jobs,” Kim said. “The government has a mission to provide uninterrupted protection of the people. That is why government exists.”

#Yoon Suk-yeol #trucker #strike #Cargo Truckers Solidarity #freight rate system