Korean Employees on U.S. Bases to Be Furloughed on April 1st If Cost Sharing Deal is Not Reached
I don’t think a cost sharing agreement getting done until after the parliamentary elections in April. The ROK will end up paying more and they would likely rather pay more after the election. It would not look good going into an election and having the appearance of backing down to the U.S. on the cost sharing issue. In the meantime the Korean national employees on U.S. bases will be out of work beginning April 1st:
Yi Myong Hwa, who has worked for the U.S. military for nearly half her life, has been getting headaches and wakes up these days to a feeling of dread.
Yi is one of some 9,000 South Korean employees who received notice late last month that they may be forced to take unpaid leave beginning on April 1 if the United States and South Korea fail to agree on a new defense cost-sharing agreement.
“The furlough notice hit us like a bolt of lightning,” the 46-year-old fire department dispatcher told Stars and Stripes in a recent interview at her office at Camp Casey, the closest U.S. base to the border with North Korea.
“Korean employees have been working for U.S. troops and the security of the United States and South Korea,” she said. “It’s outrageous that we’re being used as a bargaining chip.”
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
This is not a shock to the Korean base employees, it is in the contract and labor agreements this can happen, also union given the mandatory 60 day notice. They are just unhappy about not being able to get a pay check for doing very little, like the 4 DPW employees who drive around all day here in the Bongo truck with the salt spreader attachment; guess they are patrolling for ice in the 45 degree weather…
“Yi Myong Hwa, who has worked for the U.S. military for nearly half her life”
“The furlough notice hit us like a bolt of lightning,”
Drama Queen. She’s been around long enough to know how things work, and shouldn’t be surprised at this turn of events. It sucks, but I know this isn’t the first time this has happened. Not unexpected at all.
Boohoo.
All of our jobs should are supposed to be about selfless service and dedication and devotion to country, so none should be paid anyway. 😛
Just trying to say that it shouldn’t be about the money, The most patriotic would work for free. 😆