Umbrella labor group struggling in face of government's hard-line stance
The government's hard-line stance toward illegal strikes has taken the wind out of the sails of the umbrella labor group seen as the driving force behind last weeks' collective strikes, labor experts said recently. The prosecution is seeking to arrest 49 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), including its chairman Dan Byung-ho, on charges of organizing illegal and violent strikes as well as rallies.
The prosecution arrested four leaders of Korean Air's pilot union Sunday, including chairman Lee Sung-jae, while seeking to bring similar charges against the heads of unions at three university hospitals.
The strikes at Korean Air and university hospitals have been the centerpieces of a general strike engineered by the KCTU since June 12.
The police also arrested Park Ha-soon, a high-ranking KCTU official, later in the day in connection with an incident that left the chief of Dongdaemun Police Station injured following a rally organized by the KCTU in downtown Seoul Saturday.
Labor experts see the government's hard-line stance as having stemmed from its resolve to set a precedent for future occasions, especially in view of its plans to carry out restructuring in the public sector in the latter half of this year. The government also fears that unbridled labor activities may dampen the nation's efforts to revive the economy, which is finally showing signs of recovery from a foreign currency crisis it suffered back in late 1997, they said.
Experts also noted that the KCTU has been the target of animosity from the government who expressed a blanket objection to the current administration's corporate reform policies.
Some observers even assert that in taking advantage of public sentiment, which has mostly turned against the labor movement in view of the nation's adverse economic and weather situations, the government has set out to "tame" the radical umbrella organization.
The KCTU, in turn, has viewed the current developments as the government's determination to impose a campaign that suppresses all of its activities.
The umbrella labor group said it will hold rallies in 14 cities across the country tomorrow in which they will call for the resignation of the current administration. On Friday the KCTU will convene an emergency meeting of its officials to discuss plans for future anti-government activities.
The KCTU has also threatened a second collective strike at the end of the month, focusing on workplaces in chemical and metal industries.
Meanwhile, the Labor Ministry said a total of 6,760 at 25 workplaces participated in the strike yesterday, reflecting the dwindling labor fever.
Unionized flight attendants and ground staffers at Asiana ended their week-long strike after reaching a compromise with their management over wage and allowance hikes.
However the unions of four national university hospitals, including Seoul National University Hospital, the nation's biggest, continued striking for the sixth day after failing to reach an agreement with the management regarding the severance pay system.
The unions are protesting the management's planned abolition of a severance pay system which increases in proportion with an employees' years of service. The hospitals plan to abolish the system starting this year.
Other major workplaces on strike include the Korea District Heating Corp. and Tae Kwang Industry in Ulsan, Labor Ministry officials said.
By Kim Min-hee Staff reporter