Dramatic Fit in Just 6 Days... Courier Strike Again

Union "Continue Classification Work Official Letter"
Courier Company "Additional Workforce Needs Discussion"
Only 10% Strike... 'Logistics Crisis' Unlikely

Officials from the Task Force on Overwork Deaths of Delivery Workers held a press conference on the afternoon of the 26th at the National Service Industry Union Federation in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, stating that delivery workers are facing a situation where they will be assigned to sorting tasks as before, and urging delivery companies to fulfill their social agreements.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Donghoon Jeong, Dongwoo Lee] The delivery workers' union is launching a general strike just six days after reaching a dramatic agreement on improving labor conditions.

On the afternoon of the 27th, the delivery workers' union held a press conference and announced, "To stop dying any longer, we declare the 'Delivery Workers Want to Live Social General Strike.'"

The union stated, "Delivery companies sent official letters to branches and sales offices instructing them to 'continue sorting work,'" and claimed, "The management broke the agreement just five days after signing the agreement on measures against death from overwork." The reason the delivery workers' union decided to strike again was the sorting work issue. Through the first social agreement, sorting work was excluded from the basic scope of delivery workers' duties, and delivery companies were to deploy dedicated sorting personnel and bear the costs. If delivery workers inevitably perform sorting work, they are to be compensated accordingly. However, the principle is that delivery companies pay the sorting work costs, but they may share the costs through consultation with agencies.

However, the union argues that delivery companies are effectively breaking the agreement by only deploying the number of sorting personnel they announced independently last October and showing an attitude of not deploying additional personnel. Jin Kyungho, executive committee member of the countermeasure committee, said, "CJ Logistics claims that their responsibility ends once they deploy 4,000 sorting personnel, and Lotte and Hanjin claim the same with 1,000 personnel each." He added, "Since Lotte and Hanjin lack automated equipment, more than 70% of delivery workers must continue sorting work if only 1,000 personnel are deployed, and about 15% of CJ Logistics workers must also perform sorting work. This is a breach of the agreement," he criticized.

In response, the Korea Integrated Logistics Association, representing 14 delivery companies, rebutted the union's claim that the agreement was broken, stating it is unfounded. They said they have secured 4,000 sorting personnel for CJ Logistics and 1,000 each for Hanjin and Lotte as per the agreement, and additional personnel deployment will be reviewed after discussions on structural improvements. Some expect that since union members participating in the strike account for about 10% of all delivery workers, there will be no confusion at the level of a 'logistics crisis.' Union members belong to four delivery companies: CJ Logistics, Korea Post, Hanjin Delivery, and Lotte Delivery, totaling about 5,500. Although the union declared the strike, there is speculation that the government and ruling party may negotiate with the union again, preventing the situation from becoming extreme.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.