10,000 Gather for KCTU General Strike Rally...Calls for Primary Employer Negotiations

10,000 People Gather for General Strike Rally in Gwanghwamun
KCTU Urges Primary Employer Negotiations After Yellow Envelope Act Implementation
79,000 Metal Workers Join Nationwide Strike

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held a general strike rally with about 10,000 participants in Gwanghwamun, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

On July 15 at around 3 p.m., KCTU held the general strike rally in front of Donghwa Duty Free Shop in Jongno-gu. The rally was attended by the Korean Federation of Public Services and Transportation Workers' Unions, the Korean Metal Workers' Union, the Korean Federation of Service Workers’ Unions, and other organizations such as the Korean Confederation of General Trade Unions. This general strike was organized to demand that primary employers be recognized as the responsible parties, and that direct negotiations with subcontracted workers be initiated, in accordance with the implementation of the Yellow Envelope Act (the amendment to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act) in March.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held the "First Year of Original Contractor Negotiations, Breakthrough in Cross-Enterprise Negotiations! Victory for All Workers' Basic Labor Rights! KCTU July 15 General Strike Rally" at 3 p.m. on the 15th in front of Donghwa Duty Free Shop in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jaehyun Park

At the rally, KCTU shared examples of avoiding negotiations and called on the government to play its role in ensuring that primary employer negotiations are realized in line with the intent of the amended law. According to KCTU, 10,000 people participated in the general strike rally in Seoul, and a total of 100,000 people participated nationwide.

In the resolution announced that day, the participants emphasized that measures are needed to guarantee the purpose of the amended Trade Union Act. Yang Kyungsoo, President of KCTU, said in his address, "Although the revised act has gone into effect and countless subcontracted, non-regular workers have demanded negotiations, primary employers remain silent. The enforcement ordinances and administrative guidelines that have become tools to avoid primary employer negotiations must be abolished, and employers who refuse to negotiate must be penalized."

Organizations under KCTU also held strikes and preliminary rallies on the same day. The Korean Metal Workers’ Union had 79,000 members join strikes across the country. The Seoul branch rallied in front of the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office at 1 p.m. before joining the general strike rally. The Korea National Care Workers’ Union designated July 15 as the "Day of Pause," halting work for the day. The Mart Workers’ Union also held a rally related to Homeplus in front of the presidential office at around 2 p.m. In addition to Seoul, general strike rallies were held by KCTU regional chapters in Jeju, North Gyeongsang Province, and other regions.

After concluding the main rally at around 4 p.m., participants planned to march toward the presidential office, calling for the guarantee of fundamental labor rights and other demands.

Following the general strike, KCTU plans to continue its legislative campaign in the second half of the year, aiming for the application of the minimum wage to specially employed and platform workers, and for the revision of the labor standards act to expand the legal definition of "worker."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.