MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2022) The Korea International Trade Association (KITA), one of the largest South Korean business communities, on Wednesday urged striking truckers to sit down for talks with the government, as their strike is dramatically hurting the country's economy.
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.
"This is an unreasonable collective action. Our trade industry is again experiencing logistics difficulties at an already difficult time due to the global economic slowdown," KITA vice chair Jeong Marn-ki was quoted by� the Yonhap news agency as saying at a press conference.
Jeong added that the truckers' union needed to start negotiations with the authorities to find a "win-win" solution and stop hurting the economy.
The statement of the KITA vice chair came at a time when another round of talks between truckers and the government failed on Wednesday, with the sides not being able to reach any compromise.
The nationwide strike has caused supply disruptions in the country's cement and steel 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 materials were not delivered on time, Yonhap reported.
Earlier in the week, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol issued an executive return-to-work order calling truckers' demands "unjustifiable" and forcing them to return to work.
