Non-Union Delivery Workers: "Strike Holding People's Goods Hostage... Stop It"

Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' National Courier Workers' Union are staging a sit-in protest at the CJ Logistics headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. The courier union, which has been on strike since December 28 of last year, launched a surprise protest on the 10th, urging the company to engage in dialogue to resolve the situation. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] As the strike by the CJ Logistics branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' National Courier Workers' Union (Courier Union) approaches one month, non-union courier drivers held a rally urging the strike to end.

On the 23rd, 110 drivers belonging to the National Non-Union Courier Drivers' Alliance (Non-Union Alliance) gathered in front of Yeouido National Assembly Station in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, raising their voices, saying, "The union is holding the public's goods hostage and striking."

The Non-Union Alliance was formed by some drivers after the Courier Union strike began on the 28th of last month, and the group stated that about 3,000 members currently belong to it.

The Non-Union Alliance claimed, "In some strong union areas such as Ulsan and Bundang, residents have been unable to receive deliveries," adding, "Even when substitute personnel try to deliver, the union illegally occupies the goods and refuses to release them, making delivery itself impossible."

On the 16th, participants covered themselves with plastic to block the cold during the CJ Delivery Workers' Union's rally condemning CJ held in front of the CJ Logistics headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

The Non-Union Alliance criticized that not only customers but also drivers are suffering damages due to the courier strike. The alliance stated, "Due to the prolonged strike, client companies have left, reducing the volume of pickups and deliveries, which has significantly decreased drivers' income," and "Sales from client companies, which had been maintained to some extent, have also declined because goods cannot be sent to strike-affected areas."

Kim Seul-gi, a representative of the Non-Union Alliance and a courier driver working in Suwon, said, "Because of the union that claims to protect workers, we are losing money, the trust we have built up, and even our jobs."

She continued, "With the establishment of the union, courier drivers who were individual business owners gained worker status, placing them in an ambiguous position of being neither business owners nor workers," and "Even though we want to work, we are unable to; we want to return to the status of business owners and be allowed to work as much as we want."