South Korea's police detained about 150 public sector workers Monday for taking part in an unprecedented illegal strike against a controversial labour reform bill, officials said. Local governments began sacking striking civil servants Monday acting on earlier warnings that the employees would face dismissal and arrest for their industrial action.
The National Police Agency said it had taken 150 workers from across the country into custody for questioning hours after the indefinite strike went ahead with a smaller-than-expected turnout.
Some 16,000 police were mobilised to guard government buildings and offices during the strike, the first ever by civil servants. Police were also ordered to disband any rallies and arrest striking public servants.
The Korean Government Employees' Union (KGEU), organising the outlawed industrial action, said 44,309 of its 140,000 members stayed away from their jobs across the country.
But police and the home affairs ministry said the union was exaggerating and that only 2,500 public servants were on strike by midday. The figure could decrease as some strikers were returning to work, they said.
"The strike has little impact on daily work because the turnout was much smaller than expected," a ministry official said.
The government has warned that striking public servants should face dismissal or arrest.
Some local governments began dismissing leading strikers later Monday. In the central province of North Chungcheong, 33 civil servants were sacked while 19 got the axe in the eastern city of Gangneung and 12 in the southern city of Ulsan.
Other city or provincial governments were also preparing harsh punishment for those responsible for the strike, the home affairs ministry said.
Responding to the government action, KGEU leader Ahn Byung-Sun said: "We will fight to the last minute - until civil servants are granted full-fledged labour rights - with the general strike."
The KGEU said its members in health, water, sewage and cleaning services did not join the walkout to minimise public inconvenience.
Unions want the government to scrap a bill that would allow public servants to form unions but would still ban strikes.
The bill, which awaits approval from parliament, would restrict militant union activities and allow companies to hire more workers on temporary contracts. Unions say such a measure would destabilise the job market.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the country's two umbrella unions, said Sunday its 600,000 members would strike on November 26 in protest at the labour reform bill.
The Federation of Korean Trade Unions, the biggest labour organisation claiming 900,000 membership, said Monday it too could join the strike.
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