South Korea truckers vote to end weeks-long nationwide strike – report

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–South Korea’s striking cargo truckers voted on Friday to end their weeks-long nationwide protest, which had severely disrupted logistics operations and prompted the government to issue two return-to-work orders amid a mounting economic toll.

In a plenary vote conducted on Friday morning by the Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union (CTSU), about 62% voted in favour of ending the strike, while 38% objected to the move, Korean news agency Yonhap reported citing results released by the North Jeolla branch of the union.

The vote, which was launched at 16 locations nationwide, drew participation from 3,574 of the CTSU’s total 26,144 members, Yonhap said.

The vote was called a day after the government issued the second return-to-work order for striking truckers, to cover those serving the steel and petrochemical sectors.

The first return-to-work order was issued on 29 November for cement truckers.

In the southern port city of Busan, the union’s regional branch unilaterally decided to end its strike without a vote on Friday, Yonhap reported.

CTSU launched the strike, the second in six months, on 24 November to demand that the “Safe Trucking Freight Rates System” guaranteeing minimum wages to truckers be made permanent, and to expand its coverage to drivers in other sectors.

Yonhap reported that the government and the ruling People Power Party announced in November a plan to extend the system for another three years after its expiration in end-2022.

The first 12 days of the nationwide strike disrupted Korean won (W) 3.5tr worth of shipments across the cement, steel, petrochemical, oil refining. and automobile industries, based on government estimates.