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The railroad workers union has demanded that the railroad reform bill to be presented to the National Assembly next Monday be nullified, and said it would go on strike Saturday if the demand is unmet.
In response, the Korea National Railway Corporation said if the union went on strike it would mobilize 548 nonunion train drivers and 318 employees with train crew experience. For the first three days, if the strike goes forward, 55 percent fewer subway trains would operate during rush hours, it said; also, runs by the intercity Saemaul trains would fall by 6 percent, and those by the Mugunghwa trains by 23 percent. The number of subway trains plying the Seoul-Incheon and Bundang routes would fall by 35-42 percent.
The railway union said it would start a strike Saturday morning if the railroad reform bill passes the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Friday, which means it would head to the general meeting on Monday. Transportation Minister Choi Jong-chan said Thursday that a strike would be unjustifiable and illegal, and that the government would deal with it based on principles.
Initially, the reform had privatization of railroads as its premise, but with the inauguration of the new administration, the plan changed to turn the industry into a public corporation. The Construction and Transportation Committee postponed the deliberation of the Korea National Railway Corporation bill for fear of a strong repulsion from the union. It then recommended only bills on railway industry development and making the industry a public corporation.
(Lee Choong-il, cilee@chosun.com )
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