http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/DG10Dg01.html Labor unrest alarms Korean business leaders
SEOUL - South Korea's five major business organizations expressed serious concerns over the spread of labor strikes in the country and urged the government to adopt stern measures to address the situation at their leaders' meeting on Tuesday, industry sources said. Claiming that illegal strikes have been on the rise since the completion of the World Cup soccer finals at the end of June, with the result that the eyes of the world are no longer on Korea, chairmen of the Federation of Korean Industries, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea Employers' Federation, Korea International Trade Association and Korea Federation of Small Business adopted a recommendation for a stable labor-management relationship. If long strikes expand to important industries with strong labor groups, such as the automobile and machinery sectors, this year will go down as South Korea's worst year for labor unrest since 1989, they argued. The government should impose strict legal enforcement on illegal labor movements so that the nation can retain the success created in the economic sector by the World Cup, they asserted. As of Monday, a total of 77 work sites had experienced protracted labor walkouts so far this year, more than double the level reported in the same period a year earlier. In particular, workers from major companies such as Kia Motors, Ssangyong Motor, Seoul Metropolitan Subway Corp and Korean Air have engaged in partial labor strikes or labor disputes, fueling fears of nationwide labor strife. (Asia Pulse/Yonhap)
