Decision Made at National Regional Representatives' Meeting on the 8th
Simultaneous Mediation Request on the 12th, Followed by Negotiations
Nationwide Strike on the 28th if No Agreement is Reached
Bus unions in 22 regions, including Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi, have announced that they will launch a simultaneous general strike on the 28th if wage and collective bargaining agreements are not reached by the 27th.
The Korean Federation of Trade Unions National Automobile Workers' Federation held a national representatives' meeting at 11:30 a.m. on the 8th in a conference room in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and made this decision.
On the 30th of last month, labor-management negotiations for Seoul city buses broke down, leading to a legal strike. The legal strike proceeds by departing only after confirming that all passengers are fully seated or holding onto handrails. City bus drivers refrained from sudden acceleration, sudden braking, abrupt lane changes, opening doors while departing, and cutting in. The photo shows a bus stop in downtown Seoul on the 7th. 2025.05.07 Photo by Dongju Yoon
Seo Jongsoo, chairman of the National Automobile Workers' Federation, stated after the meeting, "Each regional union under our federation will submit a simultaneous mediation request on the 12th and will do its utmost to negotiate during the 15-day mediation period. If no agreement can be reached, we will launch a nationwide simultaneous strike from the first bus on May 28."
Chairman Seo added, "Our union will put all proposals on the negotiation table and proceed with an open attitude to minimize inconvenience to citizens."
If this strike goes ahead, it could involve not only city buses but also express buses and village buses nationwide, totaling around 40,000 vehicles.
This meeting was convened to seek a joint response from regional bus unions regarding the issue of ordinary wage. Previously, labor and management for Seoul city buses had conducted wage and collective bargaining negotiations over the ordinary wage reform issue, but the talks ultimately broke down after two rounds of mediation.
The Seoul city bus union began legal operation on the 30th of last month, temporarily suspended it during the holiday period, and resumed on the 7th of this month.
Despite the legal operation by the city bus union, the bus operation rate remained at 98.8%, indicating stable service. Seoul City announced that monitoring on the 7th, when legal operation resumed, revealed a total of 82 irregularities, including 72 cases of delayed intervals between buses and 10 cases of abnormal stops at bus stops. No intentional prolonged stops were found at major central bus-only lane stops.
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