The social movement of the unions, which demanded an improvement in their working conditions and a salary increase, intervened in a complicated economic context, while health restrictions in China and the war in Ukraine have damaged the production of several large Korean companies. .
With our correspondent in Seoul, Nicholas Rocca
After eight days of blocked roads and scattered demonstrations in the country’s ports and industrial areas, South Korean truck drivers will return to work on Wednesday June 15 after reaching an agreement at the end of the night on Tuesday between the government and the unions.
” Relieved »
In a statement, the Department of Transportation said, relieved “that the Solidarity Union of Goods Drivers has decided to put an end to its movement, adding that it is” very sorry for the trouble caused to people due to disruptions in logistics and production “. Authorities estimate the cost of the strike to Korean industry at $1.2 billion.
Inflation
Truck drivers had gone on strike to demand the extent of the emergency measures taken during the Covid-19 pandemic which guaranteed them a rate for freight and therefore guaranteed them a minimum income, but also denounce inflation reaching its highest level for more than ten years. The consequent increase in the price of fuel had all the more weakened the situation of those who are considered in South Korea as self-employed.
Key players in the South Korean economy
Yet they are vital to the functioning of the tenth largest economy in the world, as they showed during the strike. Hyundai Motor had to cut domestic production, while Posco, one of the world’s biggest steel producers, had to shut it down at some of its factories. In total, exports in the country fell by 13% compared to the previous week.
While social dialogue has long been blocked, the government has called in the army. A hundred trucks were driven by soldiers. Finally, the main truck drivers’ union announced that the thousands of strikers will return to work this Wednesday.
(with AFP)