Cargo Solidarity Union to Hold General Vote of Members on the 9th... Decision on Strike Withdrawal

On the 8th, when the government issued an order to commence work to the Cargo Solidarity in the steel and petrochemical sectors, tanker trucks were operating on the road in front of the Seoul branch of Daehan Oil Pipeline Corporation in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. / Seongnam = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] The Cargo Solidarity has decided to determine whether to call off the strike through a general vote of its members.

On the evening of the 8th, the Cargo Solidarity convened an emergency meeting of the Central Executive Committee, composed of headquarters executives and heads of 16 regional headquarters, in Daejeon, and announced this decision through a statement.

In the statement, the Cargo Solidarity said, "Cargo workers can no longer stand by and watch the logistics industry, our workplace, being destroyed by the government's administrative measures and over-application," adding, "Cargo Solidarity has made a difficult decision to minimize the damage to its members and to urge the government to change its attitude, which has been consistently harsh and repressive."

Accordingly, they decided to accept the three-year extension of the Safe Freight Rate system agreed upon by the ruling and opposition parties, and to conclude the withdrawal of the general strike through a member vote on the 9th.

The Cargo Solidarity stated that it made a magnanimous decision to prevent the expiration of the system and urged the government and the ruling party to promptly fulfill their promise of a three-year extension of the Safe Freight Rate system, which was announced through party-government consultations.

Furthermore, they emphasized that broad discussions and evaluations on the expansion of the Safe Freight Rate system's applicable items should be conducted, urging the government and the National Assembly to actively continue discussions and guarantee the participation of stakeholders, including the Cargo Solidarity.

The Central Executive Committee of the Cargo Solidarity was scheduled to discuss the level of the general strike at this meeting, but it is reported that the agenda was changed as the Democratic Party decided to accept the government's and ruling party's proposal for a three-year extension of the Safe Freight Rate system's expiration.