South Korean unions stage protest against a shorter work week

The members of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions shout slogans as they march in central Seoul yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS

South Korea's largest car maker and 165 other workplaces were hit by strikes yesterday, as unions escalated protests over working conditions ahead of December's presidential election.

About 120,000 workers from the country's most militant union began a strike at 1pm in South Korea to protest against proposals to shorten the working week that they fear will also cut incomes, a union leader said.

"We don't know how long it will last, but we'll fight until the government accepts our demand," Sohn Nark-koo, a spokesman for the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said.

Among companies affected by the KCTU walkout were Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Ssangyong Motor and unlisted Kumho Tire, and union officials said the action could spread further in coming days.

The walkout broadened a strike begun on Monday by 15,000 civil servants protesting against both the proposal to shorten the working week and a government ban on public sector unions.

Some analysts say the stoppages represent the beginnings of a wave of labour unrest before the Dec. 19 election, when South Korea will pick a successor to its retiring president, Kim Dae-jung.

The strikes come amid reports of flat industrial output in South Korea, which is already seeing signs of a slowdown.

Police said they arrested 600 civil servants and were holding them for interrogation because their strike was in breach of a government ban on public sector work stoppages.