Korea Railroad Worker Strike Looming

The management of Korea Railroad and Seoul Metro (which runs four Seoul subway lines) held last-minute negotiations late into the night with their labor unions on February 28 but were unable to reach an agreement. The Korea Federation of Trade Unions staged a general strike the next day in protest of the government’s bill on irregular workers.

If the negotiations break down, the labor unions of Korea Railroad and Seoul Metro plan to go on strike on March 1 at 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., respectively.

The National Labor Relations Commission is considering intervention in the public utilities dispute if the talks reach a dead end.

Going Nowhere-

The Korea Railroad management and labor union representatives at Korea Railroad held their 14th official negotiation round starting 10:30 a.m. on February 28 at the Grand Conference Hall of Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation, but were unable to narrow their gaps on key issues.

The labor union wants 67 laid-off employees restored, the end to discrimination against irregular workers such as stewardesses on the Korea Train eXpress, more jobs, less restructuring, civil service pension concessions, and an end to discrimination between regular and irregular employees.

Korea Railroad management says it can only reinstate 11 out of 67 workers who were fired, and that there will be no additional jobs.

Korea Federation of Trade Unions Goes on Strike –

The Korea Federation of Trade Unions (KFTU) launched a full strike starting at 1:00 p.m. February 28, and about 49,000 workers (150,000, according to the KFTU) are taking part in 71 workplaces, including Hyundai and Kia Motors, and metalworking industry unions. Unless the National Assembly repeals the bill on irregular workers, the KFTU plans to hold protests on March 1 in different regions and resume its general strike the next day.

The Government’s Stance–

The National Labor Relations Commission has been contemplating whether to intervene in the matter, closely monitoring the progress of the negotiations late into the night on February 28. If it does decide to step in, the related labor unions cannot go on strike for 15 days, and both management and labor must accept the decision of an arbitration process.

Myung-Hun Jee mhjee@donga.com