[Reporter’s Notebook] The Ruling Party Must Also Engage in Dialogue with Labor Unions

Even in the meeting with the construction industry, the 'union's voice' was missing
The ruling party inevitably bears unlimited responsibility for state affairs
Soothing the grievances of the Cargo Solidarity is also the People Power Party's duty

Sung Il-jong, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the People Power Party, is speaking at the "Emergency Party-Government Consultative Meeting to Review the Cargo Solidarity Collective Transport Refusal Incident" held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 22nd. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] The Cargo Solidarity Union has announced a general strike on the 24th, setting the "abolition of the sunset clause in the Safe Freight Rate System" as a condition. They had promised in June to work with the government to amend the Safe Freight Rate System law in exchange for suspending an eight-day strike, but they decided to strike after concluding that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport broke this promise.

The ruling party held a party-government consultation on the 22nd to discuss this with the government and agreed to extend the sunset clause of the Safe Freight Rate System by three years. However, there remains a regret that the voices of the unions were not heard even once during the ruling party's decision-making process. This is also far from the Cargo Solidarity Union's demand to abolish the sunset clause. Last week, the People Power Party held a meeting with the construction industry at the National Assembly to discuss illegal and unfair actions by the construction union at construction sites, but even there, the voices of the unions were not heard.

This approach clearly differs from that of the opposition party. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and then the Federation of Korean Trade Unions consecutively, emphasizing that "although we should aim for a labor-respecting society, the labor field is showing signs of regression." In contrast, the ruling party only stressed strict punishment for illegal strikes, stating, "There can be no room for negotiation regarding the selfish behavior of holding the people and national industries hostage to grow their own organizations."

As the government and the Cargo Solidarity Union escalate into a "strong versus strong" confrontation, concerns in the industrial sector are growing. The Cargo Solidarity Union's strike in June also had a significant impact on the entire industry. At that time, the cement industry was unable to ship products worth 60 billion won even before the strike reached one week, and steel companies also suffered losses exceeding 1 trillion won due to halted shipments. If the strike prolongs this time as well, it is expected that even large corporations will find it difficult to endure for long. The ruling party must bear unlimited responsibility for state affairs. It is also the ruling party's role to appease the grievances of the Cargo Solidarity Union.

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