Umbrella union to go on general strike in December

SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- The country's largest labor union declared Thursday it
will go on a general strike from December to protest labor law revisions becoming
effective from next year.
The Federation of Korean Trade Union (FKTU), the more moderate of the nation's
two main umbrella groups, said the decision was confirmed at a meeting of
representatives in southern Seoul. The dates, venues and other details will be
decided later by the federation's leaders, union officials said.
The Lee Myung-bak administration and the ruling party have proposed legal
revisions to allow multiple unions in a single workplace and prohibit pay for
full-time unionists.
"We regard the issue of multiple unions and salary ban as a matter of life and
death for 16 million workers and will devote all our energy to fighting against
it (revisions)," the FKTU said in a statement issued in the name of 652
representatives.
The FKTU agrees to having more than one union at a single work place but opposes
government demands that only one of them be recognized as the negotiating partner
with the management. It also argues that the government's "no work, no pay"
principle undermines the union's important role as the mediator between workers
and the management.
The labor association, which claims over 700,000 members nationwide, said they
were abandoning a tripartite panel's agreement reached in February on "sharing
the burden" to help overcome the global economic crisis. The KFTU had pledged at
the time to refrain from strikes and to freeze or cut back wages.
The FKTU leaders said they will meet members of Korean Confederation of Trade
Unions (KCTU) to discuss collaboration in their campaign. The KCTU is considered
more militant of the umbrella groups.
brk@yna.co.kr
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