Nodutdol fully supports the call for the mobilization of more than half a million strikers by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and its goals for social change.
On October 20, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions–a 1.1 million-member union umbrella organization–held a one-day general strike as the first in a series of actions around the country leading to a national all-people’s mobilization in January 2022.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has put capitalism’s violence in stark relief. As Korean workers care for patients, educate youth, build essential infrastructure, deliver food and goods, and provide safe foodways, the US continues to spend billions in the militarization of the peninsula and the Pacific. Nodutdol endorses KCTU’s general strike and demands, which fall into the following main categories:
-
- Abolish “irregular work” (part-time, temporary or contract labor with little or no benefits) and extend labor protections to all workers;
- Give workers power in economic restructuring decisions during times of crisis;
- Nationalize key industries and socialize basic services like education and housing.
Nodutdol believes the working masses are the rightful leaders of social change. We believe our only hope of transforming the life-taking capitalist system is for the working masses to seize the means of production and reorganize society for humanity’s collective well-being. We see this reform struggle as an important step forward for the workers movement in Korea to build power toward a true transformation of society. We support KCTU for leading the way toward meaningful change, and we support the workers of south Korea all the way. As Korean workers move their struggle forward with this general strike, those of us in the imperialist core must support their fight.
Toojeng!
Long live international solidarity!
Workers of the world unite!
Read more in Nodutdol’s op-ed in TruthOut (10/19/21): Half a Million South Korean Workers Prepare to Walk Off Jobs in General Strike