A strike is when workers withhold their labor to bargain with their employers over fair pay and working conditions. In Korea, this year, teachers are planning a strike for better teacher’s authority, Pusan National University Hospital workers went on strike for changing to a permanent position, and Coupang workers went on strike in order to get appropriate break time. But the country is not the only place where strikes are rising. The Chonnam Tribune examined the strikes around the world based on news reports by the foreign press, and looked into how the public can understand this phenomenon.
Hollywood Actors Stop for a Strike
The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG -AFTRA), called a strike, according to The Guardian on July 17. SAG-AFTRA is demanding residuals partly based on viewership levels on streaming services, which include platforms like Netflix and Disney+. Streaming services have changed the way films and shows are shown to the viewer. They are put up on these platforms for a certain amount of time and streaming services make money from subscription fees. As more users subscribe to a platform, the streaming service companies’ potential residuals gets larger. However, the streaming companies are not willing to reveal how many people watch what and for how long, which makes it hard to assess the value of the films and shows. So, SAG-AFTRA is demanding the streaming companies to share the accumulating profit from their films and shows.
The strike has impacted workers related to the acting industry such as dry cleaners, restaurants, hotels, and beauty salons as production has been suspended. However, many of them are still in support with SAG-AFTRA. Hotel workers and truck drivers have shown up on the Hollywood picket line and some restaurants are even offering discounts to any struggling union members. According to the survey reported by the Los Angeles Times on August 3, 38 percent of respondents sympathize more with striking actors, while just seven percent sympathize more with the studios. This suggests that many Americans think they have a lot in common with the strikers. The public agrees that workers must get more of the profit that the company makes.
UK Junior Doctors Call for a Raise
Junior Doctors in the U.K. went on a strike from July 13 to July 18, according to The Independent on July 18. Junior doctors are saying that the low wage growth rate, not considering the high inflation rate, has cut the pay by 26 percent during the last decade. So, the British Medical Association (BMA), which junior doctors are a part of, is calling for a 35 percent pay raise. However, the Department of Health and Social Care is only offering the junior doctors a six percent raise along with an additional consolidated £1,250 increase. The government and BMA are struggling to agree to an acceptable agreement for both parties while 7.6 million people in England were waiting for NHS treatment in June.
According to a poll done in June by Ipsos, over half of Britons support junior doctors taking action. It suggests that the public is strongly concerned about the current state of the NHS and are inclined to blame the government rather than the staff. Since 2010, the increase in the government’s medical budget has been minimalized which has resulted in the deteriorating NHS system, according to CNN on January 23. Bed numbers in hospitals have continued to be cut and the number of vacancies in staff is high making the workplace demoralized. Eventually this strike added attention to the voices that not only junior doctors’ wage improvement is necessary, but also the whole structure of NHS the needs to be improved.
New Zealand Teachers March Out of Schoo
Tens of thousands of teachers in New Zealand went on strike this March, according to The New Zealand Herald on March 16. They demanded a wage increase that keeps up with inflation. Primary teachers called for increased staffing, more funding to support high-needs students, reduced class sizes, and increased classroom release time. Secondary teachers also said that due to the lack of pay they are having trouble hiring. They have been experiencing a lack of specialist teachers even after advertisements for jobs being re-advertised multiple times. Teachers said this strike is not just for an increase in wages but for a better learning environment.
After continuous discussion with the government, teachers stopped the industrial act. Primary teachers accepted the fourth offer from the Ministry of Education, according to the New Zealand Herald on Jun 7. This offer included an increase in classroom release time from 10 to 25 hours per term and a 6 percent pay increase in July and two further increases in 2024. Teachers said the increase in release would allow teachers more time to plan, assess, and do individual work with students. The government also promised to reduce the teacher to student ratio for years four to eight by hiring more staff by the start of 2025. Secondary teachers accepted the latest government pay, according to the New Zealand Herald on August 9. Teachers will get a total pay rise of 14.5 percent by December. They were delighted that this offer will help attract and keep the teachers that are needed to solve the worker shortage.
How the Public Can Understand Strikes
The Hollywood actor strikes convey the inequality of profit between the company and workers. The U.K. doctors strike awakens the concern of Britain’s health service, also known as the NHS, failing its citizens. The teachers strike in New Zealand gives a message to the public of what needs to be improved in the nation’s education environment. After all, workers are the ones who are most aware of the problems in their parts of the industry. Therefore, strikes should be treated as an act done by professionals in a certain industry conveying messages to make a better society.
However, in Korea, strikes are still often related with words like illegal, inconvenience, or damage. According to a poll done by Hankook Research last October which surveyed 1000 adult Koreans, 52 percent thought of strikes negatively. The main two reasons for this negativity was that strikes give inconvenience to the public and it is only an act for unions to get more profit. This non-unionism atmosphere is not helpful for the development of society. Strikes cannot have power without the support of the public. Unions should also strike in a way in which it can make the public understand the real reason for its strike. More importantly the Korean public should understand that in a democratic society, where many different opinions exist, conflict is something very natural. Thus, they should have the awareness that strikers are workers that should be treated the same as any other workers, which means that they could become the next striker. With a better understanding of strikes, workers in this country will all be able to work in a better environment.
By Han Seung-hwan, Reporter