FKTU opens strike ballot

The nation`s largest umbrella labor group starts voting today on a general strike, which is scheduled for mid-December.

Nearly 850,000 members of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions are to participate in a series of votes to be held across the nation through the end of the month, union officials said.

If the strike proposal is approved, the FKTU will stage a nationwide strike next month together with the more radical Korean Confederation of Trade Unions.

It would be the first time in 12 years that the two major labor groups staged a joint strike.



The government and the labor groups remain sharply divided on the pending labor bills that would permit a single negotiation channel under the multiple unions system and ban wages for employees working full-time for a union.

The government says it will push ahead with the implementation of the bills next January as originally planned. Labor groups say that the nature of negotiation channels should be decided depending on the situation of each workplace and the wage clause should be removed.

In an apparent last-ditch effort to prevent the strike, the six representatives from the two labor groups, management and the government have held meetings to discuss the controversial bills, with its deadline for agreement set for Nov. 25.

"If a reasonable agreement is not made during the six-party talks by the deadline, we will stage a rally on Dec. 8 and 9 and go on a joint strike with the KCTU in mid-December," said an FKTU official at a press conference last week.

In preparation for the December strike, the group has started raising funds for union members who could face criminal charges during the protests. The collected money will cover legal services and living costs during the legal procedure.

"When union members vote in favor of a general strike at the end of the month, we will hold a meeting of union leaders and decide on specific plans," said a union official.

(jylee@heraldm.com)









By Lee Ji-yoon