SME Industry: "Cargo Solidarity's Transport Refusal Must Stop... Serious Damage as National Logistics Held Hostage"

On the 24th, when the Cargo Solidarity Union began an indefinite general strike, members of the Cargo Solidarity Union held a send-off ceremony near the Uiwang Inland Container Terminal in Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector has urged the Cargo Solidarity Union to withdraw its collective transportation refusal, which is causing damage to the national economy, and to return to work.

The Korea Federation of SMEs issued a statement on the 25th expressing "serious concern over the Cargo Solidarity Union abandoning dialogue and cooperation and initiating a collective transportation refusal," and urged "the immediate withdrawal of the transportation refusal and a return to work."

The Federation warned that "the Cargo Solidarity Union's unilateral transportation refusal will block export routes, causing overseas clients to stop placing orders, thereby worsening the management difficulties of SMEs."

They particularly criticized the union for irresponsibly initiating another transportation refusal just five months after causing logistics disruptions worth 1.6 trillion won through a collective transportation refusal in June.

They also argued that the safety freight rate system, cited as the justification for the transportation refusal, has unclear effects on preventing traffic accidents and instead fuels logistics cost increases, and therefore should be abolished.

They emphasized, "The collective transportation refusal, which holds national logistics hostage for the benefit of the group alone and causes serious harm to the public and businesses, must stop immediately."

They demanded that the government "strictly enforce laws against illegal acts such as transportation obstruction and swiftly implement measures such as work commencement orders to prevent logistics damage from spreading throughout the economy."