Thousands of South Korean truckers are on strike for the seventh day, disrupting production, slowing port operations and posing new risks to a strained global supply chain
Defiant South Korean truckers are also considering blocking shipments of coal to power plants if the government doesn't accept their demands for minimum pay guarantees,Prolonged labor strife could test President Yoon Suk-yeol, a political novice who took office five weeks ago, potentially distracting from his conservative agenda and raising the risk of long-term antagonism with powerful unions.
The government has urged the truckers to return to work but said it would seek to reflect their demands in the legislative process and keep trying to end the strife through dialogue. The truckers demand an extension of subsidies, set to expire this year, that guarantee minimum wages as fuel prices rise. The government says it is up to parliament to change the legislation.
As the global economy struggles with supply bottlenecks, any prolonged slowdown in the production and shipments of chips, petrochemicals and autos could add to concerns of rising inflation and slowing growth. South Korea's inflation is set to hit a 24-year high of 4.8 percent this year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said last week, while cutting its growth forecast to 2.7 percent from a December projection of 3.0 percent.
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