South Korean truck drivers end their strike

<p>Officials at Busan Port Authority said the six-day strike&#8224by South Korea’s truck drivers had been called off yesterday afternoon.</p> <p>But a major union federation has threatened a strike next month to put pressure on the government to cancel its unpopular deal to import US beef.</p> <p> &#8220Pusan port’s logistics operations returned to normal at 5 pm after the government, shippers and truckers’ unions reached agreement over the pay dispute and related fee structures,&#8221 BPA spokesperson JS Shin said.</p> <p>&#8220Truckers are returning to work and will resume cargo transportation at Pusan port.&#8221</p> <p>In an effort to lessen the damage caused by the strike, BPA formed a task-force with the Busan Regional Maritime Affairs and Port Office and took emergency steps such as deploying additional trailers, expanding rail and barge services and securing temporary yards near the port of Pusan.</p> <p>Transportation companies had agreed to increase fees for hauling freight and implement a trial of a minimum wage next year, officials said.</p> <p>The South Korean government estimates that the six-day walkout may impact on the country’s June balance of payments by more than US$4bn.</p> <p>Some drivers for smaller firms were still in talks, but it was expected they would return to work soon.</p> <br />