Government and Public Officials Union to Clash

With low-ranking public officials` votes for strike only a day ahead, the labor union of civil servants and the government reconfirmed their positions and the conflicts between the two sides are likely to recur in six months.

However, the physical clash is unlikely to happen in the process of voting because the government will not forcefully block the voting by mobilizing the police even if the union will set up the polls and vote.

The unionized public officials announced in a press conference on May 21 that they will push ahead with the votes for strike on May 22 and 23 as scheduled.

However, the union decided to go on a strike right away even if public officials approve and leave the detailed schedule to stage a strike to the union chief.

Regarding this, Union Chief Cha Bong-cheon said, “We will try to negotiate with the government by June 16. If we think dialogues are impossible, we will declare the rupture of negotiations and walk out right away.”

The union also said that the period of strike or exclusion of some workers needed to do their job will be decided upon the developments.

Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MOGAHA) Kim Doo-kwan said in a press conference in the government complex in Sejong-ro, Seoul that if the unionized public officials force their way to vote for strike, the government will sternly punish the leaders.

“The labor union of public officials should halt the plans of illegal collective actions such as the vote for strike,” said Minister Kim. “The government will strictly deal with the illegal acts by civil servants,” he added.

He also issued a warning that if they demand their rights including that of collective bargaining before the enactment of a related law, which can be hardly accepted even in the advanced countries, and force an illegal act, they will be discarded by the public in the end.

The MOGAHA said that if the labor union push for the vote, they can be sentenced to one year or less in prison or fined 3 million won or less in accordance to the law that bans the collective actions of the public officials for the purposes other than their work.

Nonetheless, the MOGAHA Minister made clear that the government will not forcefully block their move by mobilizing the police. “What we will do is to collect evidence in the process of voting before dealing with the leaders according to the law.”

The public officials` trade union requested again in the press conference their rights including that of collective bargaining, the amendment of the Labor Law, the acknowledgement of it as the only negotiation body, and the establishment of a committee between the two sides to directly negotiate with the government.

“The government plans to enact a law goes against our request, the reform of the public officialdom, and its pledged reformist determination to establish a sound labor-management relations,” argued the union.

The level of their demand seems to have risen compared to last November when they walked out.

In fact, their first priority was focused on using the title of `labor union` until President Roh took office. Accordingly, they requested for the government to allow the title in September last year when the MOGAHA submitted the bill on the public officials` labor union to the National Assembly. Although they demanded their rights to collective actions, they were not as stubborn as they are now.

However, as the new government changed its plan to allow them to use the title, their request has been changed to the full guarantee of their rights to collective actions. In addition, they have pressured the government, saying that they will walk out if their requests are not accepted.

As a result, the Ministry of Labor acknowledged some of their rights to collective actions, by giving in more than what the MOGAHA did. Yet, the Ministry`s concession was fell short for their excessive demand.

Hyun-Doo Lee ruchi@donga.com