GOV’T AND KCTU CLASH AT ILO MEETING

[Anchor Lead]

The government and the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions are still holding heated discussions over the legitimacy of the government's 'return-to-work' order. The KCTU is arguing that the government's return-to-work order, which forces workers to work, is in violation of the ILO conventions, whereas the government claimed that this is an exceptional situation. Their strife continued on at the International Labor Organization's Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting currently underway in Singapore.

[Pkg]

The International Labor Organization's Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting is underway in Singapore. The South Korean government and the labor sector have brought their strife over the truckers' strike to that event. Park Jong-pil, the head of the Ministry of Employment and Labor's Planning and Coordinating Office, said during his keynote speech that the Cargo Truckers' Solidarity's refusal to transport could gravely impact the national economy and seriously endanger people's lives, health and safety. He added that small and medium enterprises, small businesses, and ordinary citizens bear the brunt of the strike. As for the labor sector's argument that the return-to-work order is in violation of the ILO conventions, the government claimed that this is an exceptional situation. In Tuesday's keynote speech, Korea Confederation of Trade Unions' chief vice chair Yun Taek-geun said the return-to-work order rejects the right to strike and the government is threatening the striking workers. The two sides continue to disagree over the ILO's letter to the Korean government. In the letter, there is a part that reads "return-to-work orders restrict workers' freedom of association rights." The KCTU claimed that the ILO determined that the orders are in violation of the ILO conventions and asked the ILO and the UN special rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association for additional intervention. Meanwhile, the government argued that the passage simply referred to overseas cases and the letter was merely an opinion inquiry. The heated conflict between the labor sector and the government continues, but authorities believe that the return-to-work order is producing results. Since the order was issued, output of cement and ready-mix concrete recovered to 96% and 71% of previous levels respectively. Ports are quickly returning to normal as well. The container import and export at key ports like Busan, Incheon and Gwangyang, have exceeded normal levels. The import and export amounts at 12 major ports in Korea have recorded 115% of previous figures.