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Jeong Yeong-jeong, 37, who has been a truck driver for 15 years, says that he is in the worst situation he has ever had to face. Round-trip freight fares from Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, to Seoul are about 600,000 won (US$ 571), but Jeong receives just about 50,000 won for the overnight trip, which takes two days and one night.

The price of the diesel fuel needed to complete the trip has risen sharply to about 490,000 won, from a little more than 220,000 won in the previous year. He earns almost nothing after paying 50,000 won for the toll and 30,000 won for food. He also pays 200,000 won a month to the company and for insurance, and has to cover the cost of changing the oil or tires on his truck. Oil prices have skyrocketed to around 2,000 won per liter from 1,100 won in a year, but the freight fees have stayed almost the same, he says.

For this reason, Jeong, an official of the Korean Transport Workers’ Union, said that he and about 180 colleagues, who are also truck drivers, had to stop working for eight days through May 26. Like Jeong, an increasing number of transport workers have had to stop driving or have gone on strike thinking that they would suffer even more losses by continuing to drive their trucks due to the hike in diesel prices. They are urging the company to apply price controls on transport fares based on the current price of oil and increase freight fees by 23.4 percent. LG Electronics-affiliate Hi Logistics recently suggested an increase of 6.6 percent, making negotiations difficult.

About 100 companies across the nation are at odds with logistics firms over freight fares like this. More than 100 truckers belonging to the Gwangju branch of the truckers’ union, or Cargo Solidarity are waging a sit-in in front of a Samsung Electronics factory in Gwangju. Unless Samsung accepts their demand to increase transport fees, they say they will go on a strike sometime in the next month.

But the high price of fuel is not the only problem the truck drivers face. There are some people who siphon fuel from the parked trucks at night, leading some of the drivers to sleep in their trucks. Highway toll fees are expected to increase soon as well, adding to their misery. The drivers say they are ready to go on a strike at the risk of losing their livelihoods entirely.

The truckers’ union recently sent a letter to the prime minister’s office, which in turn says is preparing to counter the surge in oil prices. The union warned, however, “If the government doesn’t take special measures (to address the fuel price problem), there is nothing we can do but to stop driving. Such a situation will cause a serious logistics crisis and enormous social conflicts.”

The union also urged the government to better regulate oil refiners, strengthen public transport routes and implement price controls on transport fares as promised.

Cargo Solidarity says that its members will go on strike in June, unless the government takes action.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]