The National Airport Workers' Solidarity, which brings together workers from 15 airports nationwide including Incheon Airport and Gimpo Airport, said on the 9th that it will launch a general strike starting on the 19th through the Chuseok holiday.
The National Airport Workers' Solidarity held a general strike declaration ceremony that morning in front of the presidential office in Yongsan. The group consists of the Incheon Airport Regional Branch of the Public Transport Workers' Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which includes Incheon Airport workers, and the National Airport Labor Union, which includes workers from the other 14 airports. This is the first time the two unions are striking together.
Union members are primarily affiliated with airport subsidiaries and handle runway and terminal maintenance and repair, firefighting, and electrical facility management. The solidarity is demanding: ▲ switching Incheon Airport's three-shift, two-team system to a four-shift, two-team system ▲ hiring needed personnel in line with phase 4 expansion at Incheon Airport ▲ improving disadvantages faced by subsidiaries at airports nationwide.
Kim Haeng-gi, secretary-general of the National Airport Labor Union, said, "Unless we change shifts or have someone cover for us, we cannot even take time off for fear of wage clawbacks," and noted, "Fatigue is building up and safety accidents are occurring because of this, yet all responsibility is being shifted onto the subsidiaries."
They plan to continue the strike from the 19th through the Chuseok holiday. Considering that delays of three to eight hours occurred at airports during the Lunar New Year holiday even without a strike, they say flight operations during Chuseok could face disruptions such as cancellations.