ILO ASKS FOR GOVERNMENT’S STANCE

[Anchor Lead]

With the government and the truckers' solidarity finding it difficult to narrow down their differences, a letter by the International Labor Organization sent to the Public Service and Transport Workers' Union has emerged as a new variable. The truckers' solidarity claimed that the ILO immediately intervened with the government due to their measures, and unveiled the details of the letter.

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A letter dated December 2nd from the International Labor Organization sent to the Public Service and Transport Workers' Union. It says "The ILO has immediately intervened with the government and recalled the positions of the supervisory bodies." On November 28th, before the activation of the government's return-to-work order, the Korean labor sector had asked for immediate ILO intervention. This letter was a reply to that request. The KPTU claims the letter recognizes that the government's order is in violation of ILO Conventions.

[Soundbite] Oh Seong-hee(Chief, Int'l Affairs Bureau, KPTU) : "The past ILO Committee on Freedom of Association decisions showed that ILO does not recognize strikes by truckers as a cause for national emergency and a forced mobilization measure limits the workers' right to strike."

If the ILO saw the government's measure as a violation of relevant Conventions as the labor sector claims, this letter could be very helpful to the Cargo Truckers Solidarity. It is an unwise move for South Korea, an ILO member, to violate the Conventions. But the government has a different take on the letter. It claims the ILO "intervention" merely means a procedure of "opinion inquiry." And thus it's not an expression of concern about the return-to-work order. Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Choo Kyung-ho said that a letter has arrived and it was from the Director-General, and called it a mere opinion inquiry. Meanwhile, the government issued additional plans to sanction truckers who refused to work. The plans involve limiting the payment of oil cost subsidy for a year and excluding them from the expressway toll reduction program.