Vừa qua, Trung tâm Đoàn kết Công nhân Vận tải KPTU-TruckSol của Hàn Quốc ước tính có khoảng 15,000 thành viên cùng tham gia vào cuộc biểu tình đình công tại 16 địa điểm trên khắp Hàn Quốc. Tình trạng này xảy ra do phần lớn tài xế xe tải nhận thấy thu nhập của họ bị giảm sút trong những tháng vừa qua do ảnh hưởng của giá xăng dầu và cả chi phí sinh hoạt.
Cuộc đình công đã khiến nhiều công ty hóa dầu, công ty sản xuất ô tô và thép cắt giảm hoạt động do lượng hàng tồn kho tăng cao vì gián đoạn vận chuyển. Để giảm áp lực, công đoàn gồm 22,000 thành viên đang phản đối việc tăng giá nguyên liệu và yêu cầu đảm bảo mức lương tối thiểu cho các tài xế. Tuy nhiên, họ vẫn không thể đạt được thỏa hiệp với chính phủ sau 4 vòng đàm phán.
Các chủ xe yêu cầu được gia hạn trợ cấp, dự kiến hết hạn trong năm nay, để đảm bảo mức lương tối thiểu khi giá nhiên liệu tăng, tuy nhiên điều này còn phụ thuộc vào phía Quốc Hội trong việc xem xét và điều chỉnh luật. Chính phủ đã kêu gọi các tài xế xe tải trở lại làm việc và cho biết sẽ tìm giải pháp để đáp ứng nhu cầu của các tài xế trong quá trình lập pháp và tiếp tục cố gắng chấm dứt xung đột thông qua đối thoại.
Ảnh: Sưu tầm
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Trích dẫn bài báo của Reuters ngày 13/06/2022:
KEY POINTS
• South Korean petrochemical firms on Monday joined the automobile and steel makers in cutting operations due to mounting inventories as transport disruptions from a strike by truckers spread quickly across Asia’s manufacturing powerhouse.
• The industry association representing 32 petrochemical companies in South Korea said the average daily ex-factory shipments of their member companies had plunged by 90% due to the strike, now in its seventh day.
• The 22,000-strong union is protesting against soaring fuel prices and demanding minimum pay guarantees.
Truck drivers and members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions shout slogans during a demonstration on Friday, June 10, 2022. South Korean petrochemical firms on Monday joined the automobile and steel makers in cutting operations due to mounting inventories as transport disruptions from a strike by truckers spread quickly across Asia’s manufacturing powerhouse.
South Korean petrochemical firms on Monday joined the automobile and steel makers in cutting operations due to mounting inventories as transport disruptions from a strike by truckers spread quickly across Asia’s manufacturing powerhouse.
The industry association representing 32 petrochemical companies in South Korea said the average daily ex-factory shipments of their member companies had plunged by 90% due to the strike, now in its seventh day.
“The Cargo Truckers Solidarity union’s collective action to reject transportation is spreading the damage to major petrochemical complexes in Ulsan, Yeosu and Daesan,” the Korea Petrochemical Industry Association said in a statement.
The 22,000-strong union is protesting against soaring fuel prices and demanding minimum pay guarantees. Four rounds of negotiations with the government have failed to find a compromise.
It was not confirmed whether companies have already cut operations, but a source at a major petrochemical company told Reuters most firms were still storing finished products with the hope of resuming transportation.
Automakers, hit hard as they were not able to receive a timely supply of components and transport finished products, also formed a task-force team within their trade association to monitor the situation and call for an early resolution.
Steelmaker POSCO has said it would halt some plants due to a lack of space to store unshipped products. Automaker Hyundai Motor has cut production at some lines and cement makers have also cut operations.
Prolonged labor strife could test President Yoon Suk-yeol, a political novice who took office five weeks ago, potentially distracting from his conservative agenda and raising the risk of long-term antagonism with powerful unions.
The government has urged the truckers to return to work but said it would seek to reflect their demands in the legislative process and keep trying to end the strife through dialogue.
The truckers demand an extension of subsidies, set to expire this year, that guarantee minimum wages as fuel prices rise. The government says it is up to parliament to change the legislation.
As the global economy struggles with supply bottlenecks, any prolonged slowdown in the production and shipments of chips, petrochemicals and autos could add to concerns of rising inflation and slowing growth.
South Korea’s inflation is set to hit a 24-year high of 4.8% this year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said last week, while cutting its growth forecast to 2.7% from a December projection of 3.0%.
Nguồn: Reuters
