KCTU members hold rally demanding extension of basic freight rate system
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) — Unionized public service and transport workers affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) staged a rally Saturday, demanding the government widen and make permanent a policy for minimum freight rates.
Around 1,000 members of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union under the wing of the KCTU held the rally in Yeouido, western Seoul, one day after members of a subsidiary union of cargo truckers returned to work after a weekslong walkout.
“The Cargo Truckers Solidarity has briefly paused our struggle to protect the unstable logistics industry, and to minimize the damage and wounds of cargo workers,” Lee Bong-joo, the leader of the truckers’ union, said at the rally.
“The struggle for the extension of the Safe Trucking Freight Rates System and the safety of our citizens will now continue at the scene,” he added.
Thousands of cargo truck drivers had staged nationwide strikes since Nov. 24, demanding the government extend the temporary system guaranteeing minimum freight rates for cement and container truckers, set to expire this year.
On Friday, the main opposition Democratic Party unilaterally passed a bill to extend the system for another three years beyond its scheduled expiration at the end of the year through the parliamentary transportation committee.
The ruling People Power Party (PPP) did not take part in the vote, claiming the issue should be further discussed after the drivers return to work.
The government and the PPP had initially agreed to extend the system.
The strike has wrought massive supply disruptions across industries, with damage in steel firms and the petrochemical sector each estimated at around 1.3 trillion won (US$987.7 million).
