Gov’t prepares to issue executive order for striking oil, steel truckers

Dec 05, 2022, 08:37 am

		0
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions shout slogans during a rally against the government’s labor policy near the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 3, 2022./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporters Jeong Min-hoon & Lee Wook-jae

The general strike by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) entered its 11th day on Sunday. The government is preparing to issue ‘work start order’ for striking truckers in the fuel and steel industries beyond cement, intensifying conflict between the government and the labor union.

According to AsiaToday’s report on Sunday, the government and the KCTU are continuing their confrontation without concessions over the government’s first-ever order forcing striking transport workers back to their jobs last week.

The KCTU demanded an immediate withdrawal of the government’s ‘executive order’, calling it “martial law”. The unions announced a nationwide general strike at 15 locations against the government’s work start order. It seems that the KCTU is trying to solidify the frontline of struggle against the government through solidarity with the cargo union, which has weakened due to the withdrawal of the subway and railway strike.

However, the scene seems to be gradually normalizing on the sixth day after the government’s order to resume operations. First of all, the number of people participating in the strike is declining. About 2,900 union members are either participating in or planning to participate in the rally, about 67 percent of the number of people that participated in the rallies a week ago.

In particular, cement shipments have recovered to 80 percent, or 84,000 tons, of usual levels of 105,000 tons since the government ordered the industry’s truckers back to work on Nov. 28.

President Yoon Suk-yeol presided over a meeting with related ministries on Sunday afternoon, calling the prolonged truckers’ protests “illegal and violent”, according to a written statement released by the presidential office. “At this point, what the government needs to do is to protect the people from crime,” Yoon said.

Meanwhile, the International Labor Organization (ILO) requested the South Korean government’s opinion on the order to start operations. The government dismissed it as not a formal oversight process, saying that the ILO requested an opinion inquiry.

#strike #executive order #steel #oil