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PAJU -- With ongoing discussions about the reduction of U.S forces stationed in Korea, the labor unions of Korean employees working in U.S force bases across the nation are strongly opposed to USFK¡¯s plan to reduce the number of Korean workers.
According to the labor union on Thursday, USFK has recently notified the union of its plan to lay off some Korean workers. It will cut eight out of 100 employees working at the club in the Joint Security Area by August 15, and 33 out of 100 workers at the club near Dongduchon. The clubs' management difficulties were caused by a decrease of customers, which are leading to these layoffs.
Kang In-sik, chairman of the labor union, said that the USFK had started manpower inspections and a strike would be unavoidable in the worst case. 18,000 Korean employees work in U.S. bases. The labor union estimates that about 40 percent of workers would gradually be reduced.
The union thinks that a massive layoff of Korean workers will occur, once the reduction of USFK begins. The union therefore asks the Korean government and USFK to adopt the guaranteed status of Korean workers as a negotiation agenda and to prepare a means of living for them. The labor union plans to stage demonstrations at Tongil Park in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on June 18 and at the War Memorial in Yongsan, Seoul, on June 24.
(Lee Seong-hun, yigija@chosun.com )
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