Seoul City Bus Union Announces General Strike on 28th... Labor-Management Negotiations Stalled

The Seoul City Bus Labor Union has announced a general strike scheduled for the 28th.

The Seoul City Bus Union of the National Automobile Workers' Union Federation announced on the 25th that it resolved at the branch chairpersons' general meeting of the Seoul Regional Labor Council to commence a strike from 4 a.m. on the 28th.

The labor and management have been negotiating wages through seven rounds of central labor-management negotiations and two preliminary adjustment meetings from December 28 last year to the 23rd of this month but have failed to reach an agreement. Approximately 18,000 members from 65 companies participate in the Seoul City Bus Union. The union is demanding wage increases, improvements to the seniority system, and the abolition of wage discrimination against contract workers after retirement.

The union stated, "Seoul City, the actual negotiation party, has not proposed any alternatives to the union's demands," adding, "In particular, regarding the demand for a 12.7% hourly wage increase, the employer side has not presented any alternatives and is effectively opposing with a wage freeze."

The union plans to proceed with the strike after a referendum among all union members on the 26th regarding whether to strike. Additionally, a final adjustment procedure will be conducted at the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission from 2:30 p.m. on the 27th.