Truck strike in South Korea: faced with the risk of shortages, the government ready to discuss

Truck drivers on strike in southern Seoul, South Korea, November 24, 2022. via REUTERS - Yonhap

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1 min

In South Korea, the truckers' strike begins its fourth day, this Sunday, November 27, and continues to disrupt the supply of local industries.

The strikers are demanding, among other things, an extension of the agreement guaranteeing a minimum tariff in the context of rising fuel prices.

If the government did not wish to negotiate, it announced this weekend that it was ready to discuss with the union from Monday. 

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With our correspondent in Seoul

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They are few in number, a quarter of the workforce, but

succeed in paralyzing part of the South Korean economy.

This weekend, the country's ports were operating at only 80% of the usual regime, a consequence of the blockage of supply trucks.

Key sectors of the economy are particularly affected, such as the automobile, steel or cement.

The manufacturer Kia, for example, has resorted to the employment of temporary workers to ensure the delivery of its cars.

The cement manufacturers have indicated that only a tenth of the orders have been honored.

Risk of fuel shortage

If on Friday the government had indicated that it did not wish to negotiate and even to appeal to the law which obliges the strikers to return to work, its position changed during the weekend.

Indeed, he says he is now ready to discuss with the union on Monday.

Negotiations promise to be complicated against the backdrop of a risk of fuel shortages, a sector in which 70% of truck drivers are on strike.

The government nevertheless indicated that it was deliberating on a forced return to work on Tuesday in the event of unsuccessful negotiations.

It would be the first use of this extreme measure since it was adopted in 2004.

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• South Korea

• Transportation

• Oil

• Social issues