S. Korean rail workers vote for strike

SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- Unionized railroad workers in South Korea have voted
to go on strike to press for higher wages and improvements in working conditions,
their leaders said Sunday.

The Korean Railway Workers' Union, which claims a membership of around 25,000
workers, said that 76.58 percent of the voting members favored a strike against
Korea Railroad, South Korea's railway monopoly.
The approval rate is the highest ever in its history, the union said. The vote
was conducted Wednesday through Friday.
The union said that it will convene a meeting on Thursday to decide a strike
schedule and fine-tune other details.
"The approval does not necessarily mean that unionized workers will immediately
walk off the job," a union official said. "Both sides will be able to iron out
differences should the corporation take a sincere attitude toward negotiations."
Accusing the company of "unilaterally" cutting wages, the union has called for
the introduction of a better salary system and recruitment of new workers to
share a heavy work burden.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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