Tentative Agreement to Withdraw Wage Cuts and Not to Hire Foreign Workers
Negotiations Begin on the 24th... 700 Union Members to Return to Work
National Construction Workers' Union Gwangju Jeonnam Construction Branch General Strike Departure Ceremony. Photo by National Construction Workers' Union Gwangju Jeonnam Construction Branch
Construction workers in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, who had launched a general strike demanding the withdrawal of wage cuts, have called off the strike after reaching a tentative agreement with management.
The Gwangju-Jeonnam Construction Branch of the Korean Construction Workers' Union announced on the 21st that they would temporarily end the strike by accepting the agreement reached with local specialized construction companies.
Specific negotiations on wage conditions and measures to expand employment will begin on the 24th. Approximately 700 union members who participated in the strike are expected to immediately return to 10 construction sites.
The union held a rally in front of Gwangju City Hall at 1 p.m. on the same day, with about 3,000 participants according to union estimates, including members from other regional branches, and began the general strike.
They claimed that some construction companies had unilaterally reduced the daily wage from 245,000 won to 220,000 won and had illegally hired unqualified foreign workers to cut labor costs despite the construction industry downturn.
A union official stated, "We have tentatively agreed to withdraw the wage cuts and not to hire foreign workers," adding, "If management breaks the agreement, we will resume the strike."
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