Members of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity union stage a rally against the government's return to work order on cement truckers in Uiwang, South Korea on November 29, 2022. AHN YOUNG-JOON AP SEOUL -- South Korea will meet striking truckers on Wednesday, as concerns grew over shortages of petrol, pricier groceries and economic damage, and the government invoked a law forcing 2,500 cement industry drivers back to work.
The Union officials told Reuters that the gap between the two sides is too wide to reach a compromise. More than 25,000 union drivers are striking over minimum wage rules.
It is the second strike in less than six months and is expected to cause daily losses of an estimated 300 billion won $224 million, which will cause industrial activity in Asia's fourth-largest economy, which is set to slump next year.
ALSO READ: Strike: S. Korea orders truckers back to jobs in the cement industry.
The industry ministry said 21 petrol stations had run dry as of Tuesday. Petrol stations across the country had an average of eight days of gasoline supply as they secured stock before the strike, but stations with high turnover in the Seoul metropolitan area are experiencing shortages.
The transportation ministry said that 985 construction sites across the country, operated by 46 construction companies that submitted reports on Tuesday, 59 percent, or 577 sites, had been suspended because of a lack of supplies.
On November 29, 2022, a back-to-work order was issued for protesting truck drivers in Incheon, South Korea, due to a head-shaving protest by President Yoon Suk-yeol. The banner reads "A Back-to - Work Order is illegal," Yoon Suk-yeol said on Tuesday that the drivers' demands were unreasonable and that the government would take every possible measure to end the strike.
ALSO READ: South Korea's striking truckers say no deal is reached in the govt talks.
The government had to force drivers to get back on the road, saying it was anti-constitutional and that they would take legal action against the move.
If cement transport workers don't comply to the start-work order, the government can suspend their transport licenses for 30 days and revoke them.
The transport ministry and union are expected to meet at 2 pm local time 0500 GMT in their second round of negotiations since the strike began last week, and could face up to three years in jail or a fine of up to 30 million won $22,550.
Some 7,000 people rallied for the strike on Tuesday, according to the transport ministry, saying the government's hard-line stance showed no real intention for dialogue.
READ MORE: S. Korea transport ministry to meet with striking truckers union.
The government has repeatedly expressed unwillingness to expand a minimum pay system for truckers beyond a further three years, while the union says it should be wider and longer in scope.