Ready-mix concrete transport union members chant slogans at a rally calling for an end to unfair trade practices by construction companies in front of the Construction Association building in Gangnam District, Seoul, on the 9th./Courtesy of News1

Ready-mix concrete makers in the Seoul metropolitan area and the National Ready-Mix Concrete Transport Union Federation negotiated for about seven hours over a freight rate increase but failed to reach common ground. The two sides plan to resume talks as early as on the 13th.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the ready-mix industry on the 12th, manufacturers in the Seoul metropolitan area and the union discussed a freight rate increase from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. that day but did not reach an agreement.

Earlier, on the 9th, under mediation by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, manufacturers in the Seoul metropolitan area and the union drew up a final agreement to raise this year's freight rate by 4,200 won per trip. However, after the union put the deal to a vote of members and it was voted down, the final agreement fell through. As a result, ready-mix concrete pouring work has been halted at semiconductor construction sites, including Samsung Electronics' Pyeongtaek campus and the SK hynix Yongin cluster.

This time, manufacturers were said to have entered talks while leaving open the possibility of accepting the union's request for unified bargaining. The union was said to have indicated that if a deal is reached in these talks, it would finalize it without a vote of members.

However, manufacturers and the union failed to narrow differences over the size of the freight rate increase. A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) official who played a mediating role in the talks said, "We are discussing while leaving all possibilities open, including unified bargaining," adding, "We could not find common ground on the freight rate portion."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) strongly urged the manufacturers and the union to reach a swift agreement after large domestic construction sites, including in the semiconductor industry, were affected by the strike.

Manufacturers and the union plan to resume talks as early as on the 13th, or by the 14th at the latest.

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