SEOUL– A national courier union agreed Monday to end a sit-in protest at the headquarters of CJ Logistics Co., South Korea’s No. 1 parcel delivery firm, 19 days after unionists occupied the building in support of CJ’s striking workers.
Unionized CJ Logistics workers have been on strike since late December, claiming the company has pocketed most of the profits from hikes in recent delivery charges while neglecting its responsibility to prevent unnecessary overwork, part of a deal between the government and the logistics industry reached last year.
In support of the striking workers, members of the union under the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) broke into and seized the company’s building in central Seoul on Feb. 10. Unionists partly lifted the protest a week ago but have continued the occupation at the building’s lobby.
Kim Tae-wan, vice chairman of the union, said unionists reached the decision after the ruling Democratic Party asked the workers to make “forward-looking efforts” to end the prolonged dispute.
Kim, however, made clear CJ unionists were going to continue with their strike and demanded the company come forward in engaging in direct negotiations with striking workers.
Source: Yonhap News Agency