[Reader Submission] Illegal Acts by Construction Site Unions and Companies Harm the Public

Police Officer Yang Yujin, Administrative Division, Sinan Police Station

Although arrests have been made due to the police's intensive crackdown on 'violent construction gangs,' the charges remain unclear and the cases have stalled. As a result, the two major labor unions perceive that they have not been significantly affected, leading to a resurgence of power harassment protests demanding that union members be hired first. The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) are taking turns staging protests to secure employment for their own union members.

In construction companies, construction costs are rising due to increased raw material prices, but in reality, labor costs are going up because of the unions. Although crackdowns at construction sites have been strengthened, preventing blatant illegal activities, if union members are not hired at construction sites, companies cleverly evade the law by using small vehicles to paralyze surrounding traffic and other such tactics.

In particular, some crane unions continue to pay inflated overtime hours instead of the customary monthly fees. Since labor costs constitute a large portion of expenses at construction sites, delays in construction are passed down from the primary contractors to subcontractors, leading to poor-quality construction, which ultimately harms the residents, the public.

Meanwhile, the construction unions claim that “the crackdown on violent construction gangs, carried out like a military operation by the current government, is interfering with the legitimate union activities of construction unions, worsening the employment and working conditions of construction workers.”

In workplaces where union oversight has disappeared, foreign workers are being illegally employed to reduce labor costs, leading to poor-quality construction. Therefore, a fair investigation into construction companies committing illegal acts is also necessary.

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