Kumsan Hankook Tire Union 1 Scheduled to Strike Starting from the 7th
Democratic Labor Union Sejong Chungnam Headquarters and Cargo Solidarity officials held a general strike and all-out struggle resolution rally in front of Hyundai Steel Dangjin Steelworks in Dangjin-si, Chungnam on the 6th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] On the 13th day of the general strike by the Cargo Solidarity Headquarters of the Public Transport Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the KCTU held rallies in Daejeon and Chungnam on the 6th.
About 1,000 people, including members of the KCTU Sejong Chungnam Headquarters and Cargo Solidarity, held a general strike and all-out struggle rally around 2 p.m. in front of Hyundai Steel Dangjin Steelworks in Songsan-myeon, Dangjin-si, Chungnam.
The participants shouted slogans such as "Abolish the sunset clause of the safe freight rate system immediately" and "Withdraw the work commencement order that forces forced labor." A KCTU official emphasized, "The harsher the Yoon Seok-yeol government's crackdown becomes, the more our workers' struggle will respond with two to three times greater efforts."
Moon Yong-min, head of the KCTU Sejong Chungnam Headquarters, said in his opening remarks, "The president, ministers, and politicians are trying to neutralize the general strike by making reckless remarks, which means they feel threatened," and added, "The KCTU will fight together. We must win."
The KCTU Daejeon Headquarters also held a general strike and all-out struggle resolution rally around 6 p.m. in front of Kookmin Bank in Dunsan-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon, urging the government to expand the safe freight rate system and stop the crackdown on Cargo Solidarity. About 500 KCTU members and Cargo Solidarity officials participated in the rally holding placards with slogans such as "The president must take responsibility for expanding the safe freight rate system" and "Stop the deterioration of the safe freight rate system."
Kim Kyung-sun, head of the Cargo Solidarity Daejeon Headquarters, shouted, "The government flipped its promises made during the general strike in June like turning over a palm and now labels cargo workers facing death as vested interest and aristocratic unions," and added, "Minister Won Hee-ryong should ride a cargo truck for just one day to understand the environment and crisis cargo workers face."
The KCTU held rallies simultaneously at 15 bases nationwide on the same day to maintain the momentum of the Cargo Solidarity strike struggle.
Meanwhile, the Metalworkers' Union Korean Tire Branch under the KCTU will hold a rally at the Geumsan factory in Chungnam from 1:30 p.m. on the 7th for two hours and then proceed with a 24-hour general strike. The union conducting the strike is Korean Tire Union No. 1, with about 2,000 members. They demand a 0.6% increase in base pay and an additional 2 million KRW settlement payment compared to Korean Tire Union No. 2 under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and plan to continue striking for more than six hours daily from the 8th to the 10th for three days.
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