[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Discord is emerging between courier companies and courier unions in various places. The courier unions have announced strikes as they confront management over issues such as securing their right to livelihood, failed wage negotiations, and reinstatement. While the prevailing view is that individual issues with courier companies will not lead to a logistics crisis, there are concerns that a total strike could recur if the unions unite. Additionally, consumer burdens are increasing as companies like Logen Courier recently raised delivery fees.
According to the courier industry on the 28th, the Courier Union Post Office Headquarters plans to hold a strike vote on June 2-3 and then launch the first warning general strike on the 14th of the same month. This strike decision by the courier union comes after three months of failed wage negotiations with the Korea Post. The union claims that Korea Post presented a "slave contract" full of toxic clauses, including ▲violations of collective agreements ▲abandonment of negotiation topics ▲violations of the Living Logistics Act.
The Courier Union Post Office Headquarters held a press conference on the 26th at the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union conference room, stating, "At the conclusion of wage negotiations, Korea Post pushed an absurd slave contract, driving labor-management talks to collapse," and emphasized, "The union will respond with an all-out struggle, including a general strike, against Korea Post's unfair political alignment and attempts to revert courier workplaces."
General courier companies are also clashing with unions. In the case of Hanjin Courier, as the volume entrusted by Coupang decreases, the union is demanding that the company guarantee their right to livelihood.
According to the union, Coupang, a major client of Hanjin's courier business, plans to switch 3.7 million parcels in 60 regions including Gyeonggi and Gangwon to self-delivery starting June 14, expanding its own delivery zones. Currently, Hanjin delivers about 7 million parcels monthly for Coupang. More than half of this volume will be lost. Hanjin plans to secure other client volumes and engage in multifaceted negotiations with Coupang to minimize the impact on delivery workers. However, the union plans to begin full-scale struggles from June. A union official explained, "We are currently reviewing various aspects of the struggle."
CJ Logistics has been facing partial strikes since the 23rd of this month, with some union members striking every Monday, following a 65-day strike by the courier union that ended late last year. Approximately 800 members are reported to be participating in this strike. At the end of the previous strike, the union and the CJ Logistics agency alliance agreed to draft only the standard contract and to discuss the 'supplementary agreement' after returning to the field. However, the union claims that some agencies have not withdrawn contract terminations for delivery workers and have refused to draft the standard contract, thus not implementing the agreement. The agency alliance responded to the union's claims by stating, "We are currently undergoing legal review regarding the contract termination cases."
The industry believes that since courier unions have not launched full-scale strikes and participation numbers are low, it is unlikely to lead to a logistics crisis. However, if the situation remains unresolved and unions unite, the situation could worsen. An industry official said, "Since the entire courier union is not acting collectively but individually, the likelihood of a logistics crisis is low," but added, "The situation could change depending on how union members participate."
In particular, consumer burdens are increasing as Logen Courier recently raised delivery fees. According to the industry, Logen Courier distributed a new rate table used for new client sales and raised delivery fees by up to 15% as of the 1st of this month. Delivery fees and the rate of increase vary depending on monthly contract volume, weight, and region. Meanwhile, CJ Logistics, Hanjin, and Lotte Global Logistics have also raised delivery fees since last year.
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