South Korea Warns Of Supply Disruptions, Economic Damage If Truckers Strike

South Korea’s prime minister urged unionised truckers on Tuesday to scrap ideas to go on strike this week to spare the economy what he known as paralysis and irreversible destruction, fuelling fears for the post-pandemic restoration of global supply chains.

For the second time in considerably less than six months, the trucking union in major exporter South Korea has threatened to commence a nationwide strike on Thursday which could disrupt production and fuel materials in the world’s best 10th economic system.

The strike coincides with a around the globe increase in industrial motion sparked by a slowdown in the global overall economy, and a surge in inflation and fuel prices.

“The union’s refusal to transportation would bring about irreparable damage to the countrywide financial state past logistics paralysis,” Prime Minister Han Duck-soo explained to reporters. “In the worst circumstance, it could guide to the collapse of the logistics technique, reducing our industries’ exterior believability and threatening worldwide competitiveness.”

In June, an eight-working day strike by South Korean truckers delayed cargo shipments of goods ranging from autos to semiconductors in Asia’s fourth-biggest economic climate, costing more than $1.2 billion in lost output and unmet deliveries.

The Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union, which has known as for the strike, needs the government to increase outside of December its “Harmless Trucking Freight Level”, a plan put in area through the COVID-19 pandemic that ensures a minimum annual wage.

In the course of talks this week, the government and ruling celebration available a a few-yr extension of the plan, but refused to acknowledge the unions’ request to increase these gains to truckers in greater-having to pay industries, these as fuel and metal.

The union has given that rejected this compromise deal, expressing the truckers, who are generally unbiased contractors, should be guarded from gas price fluctuations and exploitation.

“Daily life or death, we are going on strike this time with rage,” union main Lee Bong-ju Lee instructed reporters.

Lee explained truckers providing gasoline from the 4 main refineries would also join the strike. SK Innovation Co Ltd, proprietor of SK Strength, the country’s largest refiner by output, reported it was hoping its best to reduce any disruptions to its customers. It gave no further information.

For the duration of the truckers’ strike in June, firms which includes Hyundai Motor and steelmaker POSCO were forced to lower output.

POSCO on Tuesday warned that the prepared strike could slow down maintenance is effective to a significant plant strike by a flood this summer season.