Unionized Korean truckers to strike again over expiring minimum pay system

Posted on : 2022-11-23 16:49 KST Modified on : 2022-11-23 17:15 KST
While the government and ruling party minced no words, warning of “irreparable damage” to the Korean economy if the truckers stage a work stoppage
Members of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union Cargo Truckers’ Solidarity division hold a press conference on Nov. 22 at the umbrella union’s offices in Gangseo District, Seoul, where they announced their work stoppage and demands. (Kim Myoung-jin/The Hankyoreh)
Members of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union Cargo Truckers’ Solidarity division hold a press conference on Nov. 22 at the umbrella union’s offices in Gangseo District, Seoul, where they announced their work stoppage and demands. (Kim Myoung-jin/The Hankyoreh)

Unionized freight and cargo truckers in Korea are set to go on an indefinite strike starting Thursday as they demand that the set-to-expire minimum pay system be extended and expanded to include other freight types.

Workers with the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union Cargo Truckers’ Solidarity division (KPTU-TruckSol) last went on strike five months ago, in June.

The administration of Yoon Suk-yeol and the ruling party have decided to extend the sunset law of the so-called safe trucking freight rates system for three more years, but KPTU-TruckSol says that this is not in accord with the agreement they struck in June following their last strike, and will push ahead with the work stoppage.

The government has warned that it will respond aggressively to the strike, which will likely lead to large-scale clashes and confrontation.

The People Power Party (PPP) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held an emergency meeting to review the situation surrounding the truckers strike and agreed to extend the sunset clause of the safe trucking freight rates system by three more years but did not expand it to cover more freight types in different industries.

Sung Il-jong, the PPP’s policy chief, stated that this decision was made since the income rates of the truckers in the industries that the KPTU-TruckSol wanted to expand the safe rates system to are relatively good.

“If safe rates are applied to those truckers, the public will have to take on more of the logistics cost burden,” Sung said. “To minimize public burden, we have decided to not expand the system to other freight types.”

“The purpose of the system, which was to ensure traffic safety, seems to be unclear, thus, further verification of this system is needed, hence the extension of the sunset clause,” Sung added. “Also, with oil prices being so high, we have taken the opinion of relevant parties into account, which is why the sunset clause has been extended by three years.”

Kim Jung-jae, who serves as the ruling party’s executive secretary on the parliament’s Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee, plans on proposing an amendment to the Trucking Transport Business Act.

The safe trucking freight rate system, also commonly known as the “minimum wage system of the roads” was implemented to prevent truckers from being overworked, overloaded, and from speeding by guaranteeing a minimum annual wage. The Trucking Transport Business Act stipulates that a safe rate system will be implemented temporarily for three years for truckers in the container and cement industry, and as such it is set to terminate at the end of this year.

In response to this, KPTU-TruckSol staged a strike in June, demanding the sunset clause be scrapped and the expansion of the system to include more vehicles in various industries. After an eight-day strike, KPTU-TruckSol and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport reached a deal to keep the safe rate system and to discuss expanding it to include other industries, bringing an end to the strike.

With the safe rate system set to expire at the end of next month, KPTU-TruckSol vehemently protested the ruling party and the government’s plan to merely “extend” the sunset clause for the safe rate system and its reluctance to expand the industries and vehicles included.

“Since the agreement that we and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport came to after the strike in June, the ministry has consistently opposed the safe rate system, overturning social consensus. And then, without consulting the union, it decided to extend the sunset clause in a highly unilateral move,” the union stated.

TruckSol will refuse to transport cargo such as raw materials for the steel and chemical industries, and parts for shipbuilding, semiconductors, and automobiles from major logistic bases starting at 12:01 am on Thursday.

The government has announced it will not be taking the industrial action lightly.

Speaking Tuesday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stated, “The union’s refusal to transport would be more than a logistical paralysis, but would cause irreparable damage to the national economy.”

“We will not tolerate illegal refusal of transportation or obstruction of transportation, and will not show any generosity towards those who participate in such deeds.”

By Park Tae-woo, staff reporter; Oh Yeon-seo, staff reporter

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

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