First Strike by Government Employees

On Nov. 4th, members of the Korean Government Employees` Union pushed ahead with their strike by walking out on leave of absence. This is the first time the general community of the government employees went on a strike.

Following the "leave of absence" strike, about 10,000 union members plan to hold a large national rally at 2 p.m. on Nov. 5th in front of the Congress building in Yeouido, Seoul. In response, the police vow to block it at the root, casting a big worry over the possible clash between the members and the police forces.

▽ Applying for leave of absence and coming up to Seoul = According to the joint press release of Ministry of Administration and Self-government and local governments, a total of 18,000 government workers ranked 6th or lower in hierarchy have applied for leave of absence. Geographically, in Kyungnam Province, 9,891 applied; in Woolsan City, 1,056; in Choongbook Province, 640; in Busan City, 620; Chonnam Province, 400; and in Incheon, 400.

The ministry confirmed that only 2,700 workers out of the total 18,000 did not report to work. In addition, the ministry predicts, a fraction of them, or 1,800, will participate in the expected rally, most of whom come from Kyungnam Province (i.e. 1,000).

On the contrary, according to the tally by the union, a total of approximately 30,000 workers did not report to work on leave of absence, including 13,000 in Kyungnam, 3,500 in Busan and 3,000 in Woolsan. Out of the 30,000, some 10,000 are expected to join the rally.

▽ Malfunctioning administration = The local government of Kyungnam Province suffer most. A single largest chunk of workers filed for leave of absence in that province. Therefore, other than those in managerial positions, few employees came to work. Consequently, the local government has to watch itself unable to handle normal tasks across the board.

One senior official of the local government explained, "Most of the employees who filed for leave of absence are in fact panned out to help our resident farmers with, for example, harvesting. They will come back to office in the afternoon." But, the government was literally empty. In other localities, senior workers were busy persuading the union members out of joining the rally or explaining them their applications were not acceptable. Even the ordinary workers not associated with the union could not concentrate on their works. In short, all the government agencies, local or national, did not function to capacity.

Nonetheless, citizens did not feel much discomfort nationwide. The union promised not to join in the government employees who have to deal with day-to-day demands and requests of the citizens.

In the meanwhile, in Chejoo, 23 union members of Chejoo, which is a big island province, could not get their flight to Seoul. When they appeared at the Chejoo International Airport, the police blocked them. Once foiled, the union members held a protesting rally in the airport lobby.

▽ The union rally and countermeasures of the government = The union planned to hold a rally-eve ceremony in front of the Congress building at 5 p.m. on Nov. 4th. But, the police stemmed if off and, therefore, the ceremony could not take place.

The union, however, will engage in publicity activities in the morning on Nov. 5th across Seoul to drum up the public support for legalization of the union. Then, it is to hold the rally in Yeouido.

Already foiled the Nov. 4th ceremony, the police proclaim it will also head off the rally on Nov. 5th. If the union pushes ahead, the police promise, they will arrest and indict all the participant members.

On the other hand, the ministry has not allowed the requested leave of absence. Therefore, it argues, the members are deemed absent without permission, and any participant worker will face a severe disciplinary punishment and will be criminally charged.

Hyun-Doo Lee ruchi@donga.com