ID :
92527
Tue, 12/01/2009 - 14:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/92527
The shortlink copeid
Police raid offices of striking rail workers
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- Police investigators on Tuesday raided the offices of the Korea Railroad (KORAIL) union in Seoul, accusing its leaders of masterminding the ongoing "illegal" strike as it took a heavy toll on the nation's transportation system entering a sixth day.
The extended strike by about 16,000 unionized KORAIL workers is facing a strong
crackdown by the government and the management of the state-funded company, which
hold the union responsible for passenger inconveniences and backlogged freight.
The striking workers have refused to accept the management's plan to cut pay and
downsize staff, steps meant to cope with mounting debts at KORAIL.
Police investigators and government officials charge the strike has political
aims, violating the country's labor law. They say it is meant to oppose the Lee
Myung-bak government's reform policy downsizing the public sector.
"We have obtained arrest warrants for union leaders, but haven't been able to
arrest them yet," a police source said, noting they are looking into the
whereabouts of 15 leaders on the run.
KORAIL on Monday filed complaints against 182 unionists for interfering with
business, claiming the illegal strike caused about 4.7 billion won (US$4 million)
worth of operational damage to the company.
KORAIL's union leaders said the strike is legitimate, as it follows disputes with
the company over pay and working conditions that were not resolved by repeated
rounds of talks. The union has demanded a 6 percent pay raise for workers, even
as the government moves to reduce welfare benefits to ease the troubled company's
heavy debt burden.
On Tuesday, the sixth day of the strike, the KTX bullet-train and metropolitan
subway lines were operating on a normal schedule, but ordinary passenger trains
were running at about 60 percent of their normal capacity, according to KORAIL.
The operation rate of trains to and from the Uiwang Inland Container Depot, the
nation's main logistics hub near Seoul, stood at about 30 percent, officials
said.
Government efforts to move freight were confounded Monday when a truckers union
refused to provide alternative transport in a show of solidarity.
"It seems like the truckers union's refusal to provide alternative transportation
will aggravate the burdens experienced by shipping companies here, despite our
efforts to improve the situation," a container depot official said.
Amid escalating tension between the government and the labor circle, the Labor
Ministry Tuesday decided to shut down the Korea Labor Institute (KLI), a
government think tank, due to its union's prolonged strike for over two months,
officials said. It is the first state institute to be closed by the government
for a labor dispute.
Over 50 KLI researchers launched the walkout in late September in protest of the
institute's decision in February to nullify contract wage and working conditions.
The walkout raised concerns about the neutrality of their research activity.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- Police investigators on Tuesday raided the offices of the Korea Railroad (KORAIL) union in Seoul, accusing its leaders of masterminding the ongoing "illegal" strike as it took a heavy toll on the nation's transportation system entering a sixth day.
The extended strike by about 16,000 unionized KORAIL workers is facing a strong
crackdown by the government and the management of the state-funded company, which
hold the union responsible for passenger inconveniences and backlogged freight.
The striking workers have refused to accept the management's plan to cut pay and
downsize staff, steps meant to cope with mounting debts at KORAIL.
Police investigators and government officials charge the strike has political
aims, violating the country's labor law. They say it is meant to oppose the Lee
Myung-bak government's reform policy downsizing the public sector.
"We have obtained arrest warrants for union leaders, but haven't been able to
arrest them yet," a police source said, noting they are looking into the
whereabouts of 15 leaders on the run.
KORAIL on Monday filed complaints against 182 unionists for interfering with
business, claiming the illegal strike caused about 4.7 billion won (US$4 million)
worth of operational damage to the company.
KORAIL's union leaders said the strike is legitimate, as it follows disputes with
the company over pay and working conditions that were not resolved by repeated
rounds of talks. The union has demanded a 6 percent pay raise for workers, even
as the government moves to reduce welfare benefits to ease the troubled company's
heavy debt burden.
On Tuesday, the sixth day of the strike, the KTX bullet-train and metropolitan
subway lines were operating on a normal schedule, but ordinary passenger trains
were running at about 60 percent of their normal capacity, according to KORAIL.
The operation rate of trains to and from the Uiwang Inland Container Depot, the
nation's main logistics hub near Seoul, stood at about 30 percent, officials
said.
Government efforts to move freight were confounded Monday when a truckers union
refused to provide alternative transport in a show of solidarity.
"It seems like the truckers union's refusal to provide alternative transportation
will aggravate the burdens experienced by shipping companies here, despite our
efforts to improve the situation," a container depot official said.
Amid escalating tension between the government and the labor circle, the Labor
Ministry Tuesday decided to shut down the Korea Labor Institute (KLI), a
government think tank, due to its union's prolonged strike for over two months,
officials said. It is the first state institute to be closed by the government
for a labor dispute.
Over 50 KLI researchers launched the walkout in late September in protest of the
institute's decision in February to nullify contract wage and working conditions.
The walkout raised concerns about the neutrality of their research activity.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
