The ready-mix concrete freight talks in the Seoul metropolitan area have been tentatively settled again, but whether construction sites will resume work remains unclear. The union decided not to issue guidance to continue the strike during the rank-and-file vote, leaving the door open for some deliveries to resume, but no sites are known to have actually restarted construction yet.
On the 15th, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the ready-mix industry, metropolitan-area ready-mix producers and the Korea Ready-mixed Concrete Transport Workers' Union drew up a new tentative deal the previous day to raise the freight fee by 4,200 won per trip. The increase is the same as in the first tentative agreement on the 9th.
The current freight rate for ready-mix deliveries in the metropolitan area is 75,800 won per trip. If the deal is finalized, the fee will rise to about 80,000 won per trip. The increase rate is about 5.5%.
However, the notable feature of this deal is that the term has been cut to eight months. Freight talks for ready-mix usually run for at least a year, but this time it will apply from July 1 to Feb. 28 next year. As a result, producers and the union will begin new freight talks at the end of February next year.
An industry official said, "We reached a tentative deal to raise the freight fee by 4,200 won per trip," adding, "However, this contract term is shortened to apply from July 1 to Feb. 28 next year."
Earlier, ready-mix producers in the metropolitan area and the union, under mediation by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), prepared a first tentative deal to raise this year's freight fee by 4,200 won per trip. But when the union put the deal to a rank-and-file vote on the 10th, 68.3% voted against, and it was voted down. As a result, the talks did not reach a final agreement, and disruptions in ready-mix supply at some construction sites in the metropolitan area continued.
The union also decided to hold a membership vote on this second deal. The union considered skipping a yes-or-no vote on the second deal but chose to ask members again. The vote, involving about 8,000 members, runs until 4 p.m. today.
However, this time the union will not issue separate guidance on strike participation while the vote is underway. The union leadership left it to individual members to decide whether to resume work. A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) official said, "During the previous vote, the union continued the strike, but this time it decided not to issue separate guidance on beginning operations during the voting period," adding, "It means members can resume work if they want."
Still, there are no clear moves to restart work at construction sites. An official at a construction company said, "If only some members resume, it could create confusion on site," adding, "We will decide whether to restart work after the vote results come out."
In the industry, some say this deal has a better chance of passing than the first. The term was shortened to eight months, leaving open the possibility of additional talks in the first half of next year, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), which has the authority to control the supply of construction machinery, is strongly urging agreement on a fare increase.
However, the fact that the increase is the same 4,200 won as in the first tentative deal is a variable. If some members push back, saying "there is little change from the previous deal," the strike could continue. If the deal is finally approved, ready-mix drivers in the metropolitan area are expected to call off work stoppages and resume deliveries to construction sites.