SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2022) South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday warned that Seoul may issue a work start order forcing long distance truckers to return to work amid their ongoing strike to demand an extension of the tariff system for freight transportation, which ensures fair wages for drivers.
The second truck drivers' strike in less than six months kicked off in South Korea on Thursday amid soaring fuel prices. Drivers are calling on the South Korean government to expand the Safe Freight Rate minimum-pay system, which is set to expire at the end of 2022.
"We will not tolerate the acts of taking logistics systems hostage in a crisis situation. If they continue their irresponsible refusal to transport, the government will have no choice but to consider different measures, including issuing an order to return to work," Yoon said in a statement on his official social media.
The nationwide strike has caused supply disriptions in the country's cement and streel industries because the protest delayed the cement deposit work at construction sites and the producers said they had to suspend operation the following week if the materals were not delivered on time, the Yonhap news agency reported.
The report also said that the Hyundai Steel production company could not transport the daily 8,000 tonne-shipment from its factories and was expected to face shortages starting from the following week.
In June, truckers in South Korea went on strike to protest the abandonment of the Safe Trucking Freight Rates System, which was introduced in 2020 and was set to expire at the end of this year with no possibility for renewal. Cargo Truckers Solidarity and the government reached a consensus on the matter, including the continuation and expansion of fuel subsidies in light of rising prices for petroleum and other fuels, as well as a "reasonable" adjustment of transport charges.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, the strike resulted in significant economic losses worth 1.6 trillion won (about $1.24 billion) for several major spheres of the economy, including the automotive, steel, petrochemical and cement industries.
