One Month Ahead, the Size of the October General Strike by Minju No Chong Grows Larger

On the afternoon of July 3rd, members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held a nationwide workers' rally while occupying the road in Jongno 3-ga, demanding a complete revision of the labor law. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] As labor unions including public servants, school meal workers, and cargo workers have expressed their intention to participate in the nationwide general strike organized by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) in October, concerns about a general strike affecting various aspects of citizens' daily lives are rising.

According to the labor sector on the 15th, the KCTU has begun one-person protests nationwide in preparation for next month's general strike. This is a 'warm-up' rally to encourage participation in the strike. The KCTU plans to hold a large-scale general strike on the 20th of next month, aiming for full participation of approximately 1.1 million union members. Yoon Taek-geun, Senior Vice Chairman of the KCTU, emphasized at the general strike resolution rally, "Let's break inequality with an unstoppable general strike," adding, "The Moon Jae-in administration spoke of a new Korea through a 10,000 won minimum wage, abolition of irregular workers, chaebol reform, and income-led growth, but what returned was the outcry of workers driven to the streets."

Organizations under the KCTU are also joining the general strike one after another. The Korean Government Employees' Union (KGEU) plans to participate by stopping civil service work during lunchtime on the day of the strike. Civil service administration will be halted from 12 PM to 1 PM on the day of the strike. The KGEU is a large organization with 140,000 to 150,000 members, raising concerns about chaos on the day of the strike. The union stated, "The government ignores calls to expand COVID-19 response personnel and improve working conditions, instead only demanding shared pain and sacrifice," emphasizing, "We will raise the voices of public service workers in our own way."

The Korean School Irregular Workers' Union (KSIWU) is also conducting a vote on participation in the general strike among all its members from the 7th of this month until the 7th of next month. The union criticized the education offices currently engaged in collective bargaining for their insincere approach and disclosed this solidarity plan. The KSIWU is an organization of about 60,000 members composed of irregular educational public workers such as school meal cooks, nutritionists, and care workers. During the 2017 school irregular workers' strike, school meals were suspended at over 1,900 elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide. In addition, the Cargo Solidarity Union and the Homeplus branch of the Mart Industry Labor Union have also expressed their intention to participate in the general strike.

Due to the general strike, there are concerns about the spread of infectious diseases caused by large-scale rallies. Currently, the KCTU plans to adjust the size and method of rallies according to the social distancing levels in each region.