Freight services paralyzed on second day of rail workers' strike

By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's rail freight services ground to an
almost complete halt Friday as an indefinite strike by unionized rail workers
entered its second day, officials at Korea Railroad (KORAIL) said.

Rail-based freight services were running at less than 10 percent of their normal
capacity across the nation, as KORAIL's 14,000 unionized workers put down tools
over a dispute with management on the restructuring of the debt-laden company,
which is state-owned.
Despite the heavy blow to shipping business and logistics centers nationwide, no
major disruptions were reported in passenger transit services, as replacement
engineers and staff were rushed to all major stations and KORAIL offices.
The unionized KORAIL workers, excluding essential staff for railway operation and
maintenance, launched the general strike early Thursday morning over disputes
with management over pay and working conditions.
The walkout was the third this year following the first in September and another
earlier this month.
The operation rate of freight trains at Uiwang Inland Container Depot, a major
inland logistics hub in Gyeonggi Province, stood at 6.4 percent on Friday
morning, prolonging the deadlock of shipping service following the first day.
A backlog of containers shipped to Busan, the nation's largest port city, could
not be transported to Uiwang and other inland destinations, according to the
KORAIL branch office in Busan.
"We are putting efforts to raise the operation rate of freight trains by putting
additional staff on duty," an official at KORAIL said. "But if the strike goes on
for long, such disruptions to the schedule will be unavoidable."
Expressing deep concern about damage to the recovering economy, Prime Minister
Chung Un-chan called on the striking rail workers to get back to work as soon as
possible.
"Railroads are part of our key national infrastructure. If the strike is
prolonged, it will cause inconvenience not only to citizens but also to freight
transportation, which will put a strain on the economy, going against the public
will," Chung was quoted as saying in a policy meeting Friday.
Following the meeting, the Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs
announced its plan to offer alternative transportation services during the
walkout period.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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