Posted on 16 Jun 2022
The strike by South Korean truck drivers has ended after eight days since 7 June, and the drivers have returned to work.
The transport ministry and truckers union held a late-night negotiation on Tuesday, Kallanish notes. The government agreed to extend the truckers' minimum freight rates and continue discussing expanding a guarantee of minimum pay for cargo carrying to cover additional products. The transport ministry will also review expanding fuel subsidies.
South Korea's truckers union announced drivers will immediately return to work, ending the significant disruption to domestic production and cargo transportation.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Monday that the first six days of the strike had caused an estimated KRW 1.6 trillion ($1.3 billion) in damages. In addition, Posco cut about 7,500 tonnes of wire rods and 4,500t of cold rolled steel production in Pohang plant due to the strike. The strike also triggered component shortages at Hyundai Motor's Ulsan Plant, lowering the factory's capacity utilisation rate to 50%-60% from 100% before the strike (see Kallanish passim).
Source:Kallanish
