The joint countermeasure committee of public sector workers' unions affiliated to the Federation of Korean Trade Unions(FKTU) or the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU) plans to go on a general strike late this month first time in the history of organized labor movement in Korea.
If it goes as planned, 182,000 workers will join the collective action and it will be the biggest workers' mobilization ever.
The joint committee held a press conference on September 3 to announce the planned general strike. Trade unions of public corporations and agencies, banks, railways and hospitals are participating in the joint committee.
The government currently pushes hard to impose the introduction of the performance-based wage system in the public sector which trade unions desperately fight against.
The Federation of Korean Public Industry Trade Unions will initiate the general strike. Kim Ju-young, president of the FKPITU said that the performance-based wage system is the government policy that damages the public nature of services and threatens the life and safety of the people.
☞ click the news below for more details in Korean