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S. Korea unions demand strikers' release
South Korean union leaders on Sunday demanded the government free about 1,000 striking rail workers as authorities vowed more arrests and set a deadline for the nationwide stoppage to end.
A delegation from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the largest union groups, protested outside the National Assembly as a railway strike over restructuring plans went into its second day.
Economic ministers held an emergency meeting and set a deadline of 10 p.m. (1300 GMT) for the several thousand workers to stop the strike or face further sanctions.
"Arrest warrants will be issued for five leaders of the railway union, whether the strike ends or not," Finance Minister Kim Jin-pyo told a news conference.
The left-of-center government of President Roh Moo-hyun, keen to curb criticism it has encouraged labor unrest by being too lenient on unions, has declared the strike illegal and urged workers to return to their jobs.
Police detained the 1,000 or so railway workers on Saturday when they broke up a larger protest at a university campus in the capital.
Workers fear the restructuring of the state railway network will lead to reduced benefits and its union has urged the 22,000 members to continue the protest. (Reuters)

Chiquita to transfer ownership to workers' cooperative
Chiquita Brands International Inc. on Monday will transfer one of its cash-strapped divisions to a worker-owned cooperative in northern Panama, one of the largest such hand-overs in the banana-growing industry's history.
In April, the Puerto Armuelles Fruit Co.'s union agreed to pay $20 million to buy the company its members work for and the 7,415 acres of plantations it controls in Chiriqui province, 310 miles north of the capital of Panama City, on the border with Costa Rica.
The ownership transfer takes place Monday in Chiriqui.
The ownership transfer guarantees that the Cincinnati-based fruit giant will buy bananas from its former division for at least 10 years.
"It's a historic event ... it's a lot of responsibility for us," a union director, Edgard Williams, said in an interview Sunday. "Our goal is to make this division productive and profitable." (AP)

Bolivian miners clash with troops
Thousands of miners in Bolivia have spent a second day of protest blocking major roads across the country.
The miners have set up roadblocks in three states across the country as they demand a multi-million dollar investment by the state to "re-activate" Bolivia's mining industry.
The main highways between La Paz, Oruro, los Yungas, Cochabamba, and Potosi have been cut off.
The government has described the miners' demand for $600m as astronomical and offered the miners one million dollars.
One miner died after being shot in the head as miners clashed with soldiers near Caracollo, 30 miles south of La Paz on Monday.
Negotiations between the miners and the government have been suspended. (BBC)

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