About 1,600 truck drivers continued to strike for four days in a row on Monday but it did not seriously disrupt cargo transportation in the country, officials said.
The Korea Cargo Transport Workers Union said, however, that its members will continue the strike until the National Assembly adopts a bill that calls for a minimum shipping charge and a cap on brokerage fees which will ensure higher income for them.
The union claims a membership of 12,000 out of 300,000 truck drivers in the country.
Government officials filled the gap by mobilizing as many non-union drivers as possible. But officials are concerned that an increasing number of non-union drivers stayed away, as some of their trucks were set ablaze by apparent arsons by the striking drivers.
Overall, container cargo transportation at major ports and inland depots was running at 70 percent to 90 percent of the usual level, said officials at the Ministry of Construction and Transportation.
The government deployed more police to protect trucks on highways.
In 2003, a small-scale truckers' strike that began at the nation's largest port, Busan, spread nationwide, causing export losses estimated at US$540 million. At that time, strikers blocked ports and highways with their trucks.
Seoul, Dec. 4 (Yonhap News)
1,600 truckers continue strike demanding guarantees for higher income |
