Walkout by Some 80,000 Members of Korean Confederation of Trade Unions

82,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions went on a strike on Nov. 5th for a limited period of time. They are demanding, above all, that the government version of the mandatory 5-work day schedule be discarded. The number of the members joining the strike is the record high in the history of the confederation.

In addition, some 20,000 members of the Korean Government Employees` Union, who are ranked 6th or lower in hierarchy, filed for leave of absence for the second consecutive day. Among those who applied for the holiday leave, 5,500 did not report to work, continuing their "leave of absence" strike. Due to this, some local governments had to cause inconveniences to their residents.

The 80,000 members of the confederation working for 139 business entities walked out for 4 hours from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 5th. On the other hand, 50 separate unions (72,000 members in number) including Hyundai Auto and Kia began to wage an all-out strike, while 89 unions (9,900, according to the government announcement) such as Doosan Heavy Equipment and Kumho Tire waged partial strikes.

The confederation, however, contended that, out of its membership of 206,000 at 476 workplaces around the nation that decided to join the strike, 120,000 members with 168 subdivisions joined its cause. The government estimated that the joint strike caused hundreds of billions of dollars just for Nov. 5th.

In a news conference, the senior officials of the confederation demanded, "The government should stop all its efforts to pass during this congressional session its bills regarding the mandatory 5-work-day schedule, the government employees` union, and the special economic zone. It should come up with a bill without compromising workers` rights, and guarantee the labor rights to the government workers."

Out of the confederation members who joined the strike, 21,000 held rallies in 21 regions across the country such as Youngdungpo Station in Seoul, Woolsan Station, and Chunahn Station in Choongnam Province, and marched on the street from 3 p.m.

Also the members of the Government Employees` Union got united with the confederation members at the Youngdungpo Station in Seoul, and marched toward Yeouido in Yuongdungpo Gu to hold a rally there. In the process, they clashed with the police forces blocking the rally.

Previously at around 2 p.m. on the same day, the Federation of Korean Trade Union held a rally in front of the headquarters of the Grand National Party in Yeouido, Seoul. The federation threatens to employ all means possible to block the passage of the government bills for the work schedule, the government employees and the special economic zone. In the meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Administration and Self-government and local governments, in Busan, for example, the number of workers absent has increased from 290 on Nov. 4th to 558. In Saha Gu, 36.5% of its total workforce (i.e. 640) ranked 6th or lower received were absent, and the local government received numerous complaints from the residents since most of the absent work in the departments handling daily demands and requests of the residents.

On the other hand, most localities other than Kyungnam Province, Busan and Woolsan did not suffer many problems since a smaller number of workers was absent from work. In the meanwhile, senior workers in managerial positions persuaded their lieutenants into reporting to work, while union senior members pushed them for the opposite, causing clashes between them. Therefore, the aftermath of the strike is expected to cause a lot of trouble within the organizations.

Jin Lee Hyun-Doo Lee leej@donga.com ruchi@donga.com