Catherwood LibraryILR School

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is set to stage a nationwide strike on Friday to call for an increase in the minimum wage and better conditions for irregular workers. 380,000 workers across the nation walked out of their workplaces on Thursday, and over 40,000 unionists are expected to show up to the main rally in Seoul on Friday. In Korea, irregular employees are excluded from social safety nets including health insurance and the national pension, receive half the wages of regular employees, and can be terminated without cause. They include workers from a broad range of occupations, from public sector employees in the government to privately-hired subcontracted workers. However, there has been criticism from the general public and employees, who say the strike is unnecessary since the new administration has promised to meet both of the basic demands of the labor union: raising the minimum wage to 10,000 won per hour and ending discrimination against irregular workers.