Umbrella union vows general strike against S. Korea-U.S. FTA
Hankyoreh, Korea
Umbrella union vows general strike against S. Korea-U.S. FTA
3 July 2006
(Yonhap News) To express its opposition to a free trade agreement (FTA) that South Korea is negotiating with the United States, one of the nation’s major umbrella unions on Monday vowed to launch a general strike on the day of the talks between the two countries.
The progressive Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said that it will go on a general strike on July 12, when the two nations hold the second round of their FTA talks in Seoul.
"We fear that our country will become a victim of speculative funds once the agreement is sealed," the group said in a statement, adding that such a scenario will hinder the process of creating quality jobs here.
The group said it will launch the strike at 10 a.m., with 30,000 to 100,000 members expected to gather in front of Seoul City Hall.
Earlier in the day, the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, an influential civic activist group, and a group of lawyers called the Lawyers for Democratic Society, jointly called for the government to disclose details of the ongoing FTA talks.
"The government is currently losing trust from the people, as they are not even revealing the least bit of negotiation details required for citizens to be informed," they said in a press conference here.
They also criticized the National Assembly for putting off its job to address the possible side effects of the accord, and called for it to review and make public the details of the talks.
Another civic group opposed to the free trade accord also joined the movement to protest the deal.
Thee Korean Alliance against the Korea-U.S. FTA called for an immediate cessation of the talks while threatening to hold rallies around the presidential office during the second round of talks.
"The FTA is not only ruining the country’s agricultural sector but is contributing to creating more unstable non-regular jobs," said the group formed by an alliance of 282 trade unions and peasant organizations.
South Korea and the U.S. wrapped up their first round of formal FTA talks earlier this month in Washington. Both sides hope to complete negotiations by March next year.
