SOUTH KOREA: Workers in Seoul hold a May Day rally to demand better working conditions and commemorate victims of the sunken ferry

Record ID: 214654

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: Workers in Seoul hold a May Day rally to demand better working conditions and commemorate victims of the sunken ferry
  • Date: 1st May 2014
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (MAY 1, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SOUTH KOREAN WORKERS AND MEMBERS OF KOREAN CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS (KCTU) SINGING AND CHANTING YELLOW RIBBON ON MAN'S JACKET VARIOUS OF WORKERS SINGING AND CHANTING (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) PRESIDENT OF KOREAN CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS (KCTU) SHIN SEUNG-CHUL SAYING: "The Korean Confederation of Trade Union held th
  • Embargoed: 16th May 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Korea, Republic of
  • Country: South Korea
  • Topics: Disasters,Politics,People
  • Reuters ID: LVA4KSI44FDXN0A29PWZWKTQSSRX
  • Story Text: Workers in Seoul held a rally on Thursday (May 1) to demand better working conditions and commemorate victims of the sunken ferry.
    Thousands of workers gathered in front of the main train station and chanted slogans in protest against the government's labour policies.
    During the rally, workers paid silent tribute to victims who died after a ferry carrying 476 passengers capsized on April 16.
    The workers attached yellow ribbons on their jackets, as a symbol of good luck to wish for safe return of the missing passengers.
    The confirmed death toll from the ferry disaster on Thursday stood at 213 with about 90 people still unaccounted for.
    The participants belonged to the Korean Confederation of Trade Union (KCTU), one of the country's major umbrella unions.
    "The Korea Confederation of Trade Union held the rally to commemorate numerous deaths of workers and mourn the victims of ferry Sewol. Today, we pledged to prevent the deaths of workers in the country," said president of the organisation, Shin Seung-chul.
    The KCTU grew up with the country's democracy movement in the 1980s that eventually pushed aside years of autocratic government.
    The rally remained peaceful without any clashes or scuffles with police.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register