Welcome to BASE21

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), one of the nation's two umbrella labor groups, plans to mount a general strike on July 11 to protest proposed restructuring in the financial and public sectors, union officials said yesterday.

The group, which claims more than one million unionists nationwide, had intended to stage a walkout at the beginning of this month, but postponed the strike due to a leadership vacuum.

Officials said the FKTU will kick off the strike with a large-scale rally that is expected to attract 100,000 members.

Bank unionists and public sector employees opposed to proposed privatization of state-funded companies are likely to lead the job action, officials said.

The FKTU said it would stage another strike toward the end of the year, possibly in alliance with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). The union's latest action is an attempt to pressure the government to adopt shorter working hours, guarantee payment for full-time unionists and abide by the terms of labor-management agreements.

In a related matter, about 4,000 members of 30 local civic groups, including the KCTU and a radical university student group, held a "populist" rally at Chongmyo Park in downtown Seoul on Saturday.

In the second such event this year, participants demanded that the government cancel plans to sell local automakers to foreign investors and revise the agricultural cooperatives law.

They also called for the abolition of the National Security Law and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Korea.

A protest march by participants in the late afternoon caused severe traffic tie-ups in downtown Seoul.

Meanwhile, the KCTU last week renewed its demand for the swift introduction of a five-day workweek, citing the names of companies that have already adopted the system or announced plans to do so in the near future.

Among firms on the KCTU list were Dongyang Elevator, which plans to inaugurate a five-day workweek in January, and Yoosung Enterprise Co. Ltd, which will introduce the system next April.

The KCTU said several foreign-invested companies, including Unilever Korea, already operate on a five-day system.

"The idea of the five-day workweek is spreading through the signing of autonomous labor-management agreements," said a KCTU official.

The proposed introduction of a shorter workweek is at the top of the two umbrella unions' agendas this year, with officials saying the issue needs immediate attention to avert industrial accidents and improve the quality of life for workers.

Conceding to pressure from unionists, the government has pledged to revise the law on working hours within the year.

However, the matter is not likely to be resolved right away as businesses are strongly opposed to a cut in working hours without a corresponding decrease in pay.