S. Korean truckers backed by thousands

SEOUL — Thousands of demonstrators representing organized labor marched in South Korea’s capital on Saturday, denouncing government attempts to force thousands of striking truckers back to work after they walked out in a dispute over the price of freight.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or major clashes from the protests near the National Assembly in Seoul. The marchers, mostly members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, accused President Yoon Suk-yeol’s government of labor oppression and ignoring what they described as the truckers’ harsh work conditions and financial struggles, worsened further by rising fuel costs.

The government on Tuesday issued an order for about 2,500 drivers of cement trucks to return to work, saying their walkout is rattling the national economy.

Yoon on Sunday ordered preparations for widening a back-to-work order beyond the cement industry.

Thousands of members of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity union have been striking since last week, calling for the government to make permanent a minimum freight rate system that is to expire at the end of this year.

Minimum fares

While the minimum fares are currently applied to shipping containers and cement, the strikers want the benefits to be expanded to other cargo. That would include oil and chemical tankers, steel and automobile carriers and package delivery trucks under the broader agreement.

Container traffic at ports recovered to 81 percent of normal levels by Saturday morning after dropping to about 20 percent earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It said more than 5,000 truckers were actively taking part in the strike on Saturday.

Tuesday’s order marked the first time a South Korean government has exercised its controversial powers under a law revised in 2004 to force truckers back to their jobs.

A failure to comply without “justifiable reason” is punishable by up to three years in jail or a maximum fine of 30 million won ($22,400). Critics said the law infringes on constitutional rights because it does not clearly define what qualifies as acceptable conditions for a strike.

Officials said they issued the “work start order” to cement truckers first because the construction industry was hit hardest by shipment delays.

YONHAP / VIA REUTERS South Korean workers from the country’s biggest labor union march during a rally in support of the strike by truckers near the National Assembly in Seoul on Saturday.