Daniel Sherwood’s Weblog

The gas strikes in S. Korea have taken a sour turn as officials reported that a small number of striking truckers have attacked those truckers who have continued to run deliveries. There are over a dozen truckers facing charges with over 60 more under investigation.13,000 union truckers started the strike last Friday in response to increases in gas prices. The truckers unions are demanding government assistance to help pay for the new increases. So far no negotiation has been made, and the country’s trade market is suffering from the lack of deliveries being made. The government has urged truckers to stop striking, however unions have declared that the strike would not end until demands are met.

The strikes are a hard blow to the economy right now. The government has threatened that it would take legal action against the truckers if they continue the strikes. I feel that the truckers should not have started the strike given the state of things. A better alternative would have been to continue to work, while demanding government assistance. Or to slow down the number of deliveries being made, but an all out stop is affecting the economy to strongly. I understand that they are doing this in order to get faster results, but it seems like they are going to far. The reports of truckers attacking other truckers makes the strikers look even more like the bad guys and not the victims. At this point it is hard to say when the strike will end, but by whatever outcome I hope it ends soon.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gpOWjnxoeeiN2sHspnkkCa2RJNzAD91CDQH80

Link to most recent story from AP “South Korea to arrest striking truckers”