Korean employees of U.S. Forces Korea announced Wednesday that they will take industrial action including all-out strikes.

The Korean Employees Union of USFK plans to stage rallies and strikes across the nation in time with U.S. President Barak Obama’s visit to Korea on April 21.

The union leaders claimed that the U.S. military is making unfair demands and refusing to negotiate further.

“As the negotiations to improve working conditions have fallen apart due to the USFK’s refusal, (the union) will go into industrial action including general strikes,” union leaders said.

The union claims that the USFK has refused to review the commission’s proposal despite being required to do so under the Status of Forces Agreement in Korea.“USFK is pushing ahead with freezing wages, work force reduction, converting (workers) to part-time employment.”

The union’s demands include a guaranteed wage increase reflecting the inflation rate, establishment of a union-employer-government negotiation group, and for the USFK to cover part of the cost of moving to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, where the USFK is being relocated.

(cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)