Failure to respond to crisis

Six days into a nationwide strike by Cargo Truckers Solidarity, the government ordered strikers engaged in cement transportation to return to work in a Cabinet meeting Tuesday. The government enforced such a drastic order for the first time since 2004, when the laws were enacted. After the union receives the order from the government, unionized members must withdraw their refusal to transport cement and go back to work within 24 hours. Otherwise, the government can retract their business licenses and impose a jail term up to three years or a fine of less than 30 million won ($22,600).

President Yoon Suk-yeol made the decision because of “much sacrifice and cost needed to put the economy back on track.” He said the government had to take the step to prevent a serious crisis. The government gave a briefing to the press shortly after the Cabinet meeting and vowed to sternly deal with the strike according to law and principles. Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choo Kyung-ho, who also serves as finance minister, said, “If such an illegitimate group action is left unattended, economic recovery is impossible and there is no future for the country.”

The government’s enforcement of the order looks somewhat reasonable. After the strike by the truckers, cement supplies in the country were cut by up to 95 percent to cause most construction sites across the country to stop. If the strike protracts amid the frozen real estate market, it could trigger a precipitous rise in construction costs and financial expenses, which will deal a critical blow to the struggling construction sector.

Nevertheless, the government responded to the strike in a lethargic way this time too. We wonder what the government did until the union already staged two strikes this year. What countermeasures did it come up with? The unprofessional response of the government reminds us of its laidback response to the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon before Halloween.

Labor unions and opposition parties strongly criticized the conservative administration’s draconian approach. The truckers union compared the enforcement of the order to a declaration of martial law, pledging to ignore the order and maintain a hardline stance.

The government must wisely handle the situation, including finding room for dialogue. It must strictly deal with violations of the order by the union but should not regard the strike itself as being illegitimate. The government can check the illegality of unionized members coercing their colleagues to follow their line or hampering non-union members from doing their business. That fits a government upholding the law and principles.