① FKTU voted on and approved general strike against structural reform of labor market
On 2 July, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) held its central executive committee meeting and approved its plans for a general strike against government efforts for structural reform of the labor market.
* Result of the FKTU vote on the general strike:
･ Participation in voting: 442,527 members voted (57.3%) out of 772,158 members
･ In favor of strike: 397,453 members (51.5% among the attended, 89.8% among those voting)
* The FKTU has stated that its membership is approximately 770,000 based on paid membership dues. However, according to the Ministry of Employment & Labor, total membership is approximately 820,000.
The FKTU’s central executive committee also approved a plan of protest against the government, and will seek to gain momentum by staging sit-in protests across the country and holding rallies against planned structural reforms of the labor market.
[Table 1] FKTU Plans
|
Dates |
Actions |
|
July ~ August |
▴Propaganda during commute times ▴ Campaign to collect signatures ▴Struggle against political parties (ruling and opposition parties, district party chapters) |
|
13 July (Monday) |
▴ Sit-in protests across the country and press conference – FKTU national headquarters (in front of the National Assembly), 16 regional headquarters (in front of the relevant regional labor offices) * Leaders of each industrial union will join the sit-in protest in front of the National Assembly |
|
23 July (Sunday) |
▴ Full-time union officials across the country will join the rally to be held at Seoul Station |
|
22 August (Saturday) |
▴ Rally for all-out struggle against structural reforms of the labor market (in front of Seoul Station or Seoul City Hall) |
② KCTU holds general strike against labor market reforms
The Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) focused on preparing for a general strike scheduled on 15 July, by establishing a task force etc. The Confederation also asked its industry-level affiliates to establish related plans for the strike.
The Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union decided to participate in the general strike during its hours for union member education and meeting hours, considering that the major affiliates of the Union did not qualify requirements to strike. The Korean Metal Workers Union (KMWU) decided to partially participate in the strike for 4 hours. The KMWU is also planning to hold a smaller strike for 2 hours on 22 July, but it is quite possible that this will simply be an assembly.
[Table 2] Major KMWU Events
| ▴ 15 July: KMWU general strike (4 hours, joint strike with KCTU)
▴ 22 July: KMWU general strike (2 hours, joint strikes by the FKTU-KCTU Joint Committee of Manufacturing Workers’ Unions) |
③ KHMU finalizes their demands and strike plans for wage negotiations and collective bargaining 2015
The Korean Health & Medical Workers Unions (KHMU), an affiliate of the KCTU, finalized its demands and strike plans for wage negotiations and collective bargaining 2015.
[Table 3] KHMU Demands for Wage Negotiations & Collective Bargaining 2015
| ▴ Wage: 6.8% increase in total wage
▴ Minimum wage for personnel in health and medical industry: 10,000 KRW/hour ▴ Regular employment for continuous duties, switch non-regular workers to regular employment ▴ No reform in wage systems such as wage peak systems etc. ▴ More personnel to be hired |
The KHMU sees that trade unions in private university hospitals will not be able to participate in industry-level bargaining, and will be focusing on bargaining by medical institution characteristics (small & medium-sized private establishments, local medical centers, specialized hospitals).
The KHMU is also planning to begin actions aimed at concluding collective bargaining agreements at the end of October, but will find it difficult to hold industry-level strikes. The KHMU held an industry-level strike in 2014, in opposition to privatization of public health care, in line with its struggle for wage negotiations and collective bargaining. However, such a strike won’t be held this year since no such significant issues exist at this time. Possibility still exists for strikes at some local medical centers and national university hospitals with labor issues.
[Table 4] KHMU Schedule for Strikes regarding Wage Negotiations & Collective Bargaining 2015
| ▴ 8 July: First collective bargaining meeting
▴ 22 July: Branch-level bargaining begins ▴ 2 September: KHMU rally to prepare for action (in Seoul) ▴ 13 October: Arbitration to be requested ▴ 29 October: Labor actions begin |