Since 3.1: GENERAL STRIKE!!

WHILE THE RAILWAY WORKERS

WENT ON STRIKE - THE GOVERNMENT

WILL ANSWER WITH A NEW

WAVE OF REPRESSION

Since today, 3.1, 1 a.m., the majority of the unionized railway workers, organized in the Korean Federation of Railwy Workers' Trade Unions/KCTU, are in general strike. Their demands: higher wages, an increase in personnel and the reinstatement of dismissed workers.

But while ... just want that the authorities meet their demands, the government is threatening them with police, prosecution and prison(DEMOCRACY A LA S. KOREA..).

2.25. Railway workers in preparing for the strike on one of

Seoul's main subway stations

Yonhap, S. Korea's semi-official news agency wrote today following:

S. Korea's railway union goes on strike

South Korea's railway union went on strike Wednesday despite threats of prosecution after negotiations derailed over working conditions and the reinstatement of dismissed employees.

With thousands of members looking on, the union leaders declared the start of the strike at 1 a.m. at the Seoul depot, disrupting the nation's railway services.

The National Labor Relations Commission had banned the strike, ruling Tuesday that it will arbitrate the dispute between the union and the state-funded Korea Railroad (KORAIL).

The commission has the authority to intervene in labor conflicts in sectors critical to the national economy. Its decision to arbitrate mandates a 15-day "cooling-off" period by unionists.

KORAIL workers are demanding better working conditions and the reinstatement of dismissed colleagues, which the company's management refuses to accept.

"Most of the railway workers' demands are not subject to negotiation," Labor Minister Lee Sang-soo said. "As the labor commission has decided to arbitrate the labor row, if the railway workers go on strike, it will be illegal."
The government will use dialogue to meet the labor's reasonable demands, he added.

The police are seeking to arrest 10 KORAIL union leaders after receiving arrest warrant for them.

"We asked them by phone to appear for questioning but they didn't comply with our demands. So we asked for the arrest warrants," said an official at the National Police Agency.

The prosecution, for its part, also said they would be tough on all employees involved in the proposed strike.

"If the unionized workers ignore the government warning and resort to an illegal walkout, we will hunt down its organizers," an official at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said. "We will seek an arrest warrant for the head of the union."
KORAIL gave its workers until 9 a.m. to return to work or face administrative actions, including dismissal. It said that 16,388 workers are taking part in the strike. About 1,000 have returned to work in compliance with company orders.

In response to the warnings issued by government officials and prosecutors, KORAIL union leaders said they cannot accept state arbitration that effectively limits laborers' rights.

"Unless the management relents on its hard-line stance, we have no choice but to insist on a walkout," a union spokesman said. He added that government intervention will only complicate matters that should be handled within the corporation.