A major umbrella union has joined a protest by South Korean truckers, broadening a work stoppage that is disrupting global supply chains and hitting local exporters.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is today staging demonstrations at 16 places to support striking truck drivers, it said on its Web site.
The union, which has about 1 million members, including metal workers in autos, shipbuilding and chip industries, did not disclose how many participants would be at the protests.
Photo: Reuters
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Calling for better wage systems since Nov. 24, the truckers’ strike is straining supply chains at South Korean exporters as they are blocking ports and entrances of plants.
The government has issued orders in an attempt to force drivers in key industries to return to work, but just 25 percent of container shipments recovered to the normal levels as of 5pm on Sunday, the South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said.
From yesterday, the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy started asking shippers and cargo owners whether their truck drivers are following the government’s orders, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday night.
The truckers’ union said it would continue the protests, blaming the government for “violently cracking down on strikes.”
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s approval rating rose for the second week amid his hard-line stance on the strike, a survey from Realmeter showed.
Yoon compared the truckers’ strike to “a threat like North Korea’s nuclear activities,” Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a recent meeting between the president and top officials.
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