Negotiations Began at 1 p.m. and Broke Down at 3 a.m. on December 12
Seoul Subway's First Union will begin a strike starting with the first train on December 12, following overnight tug-of-war negotiations.
The first union of Seoul Metro, officially known as the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Seoul Metro Union, declared a final breakdown in labor-management negotiations at around 3:10 a.m. on this day. The first union announced that it would hold a general strike launch rally at 10:30 a.m. in front of Seoul City Hall.
Labor and management entered into final wage and collective bargaining negotiations at Seoul Metro headquarters in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, starting at 1:00 p.m. the previous day, but adjourned after just 40 minutes. After the adjournment, a representative of the first union stated, "Management did not present any specific details regarding workforce recruitment or wages, saying they would provide them when negotiations resume," adding, "Since there are no concrete details in the proposal, it is impossible to review it."
After the adjournment, practical negotiations took place to confirm management's position on the first union's proposal, but the two sides failed to narrow their differences, ultimately resulting in a final breakdown. The first union has demanded the recruitment of about 1,000 new employees, taking into account retirements and vacancies. It is reported that management ultimately proposed hiring around 820 people.
In terms of wages, the first union insists that the issue of real wage cuts caused by the government's total labor cost system must be addressed. Since wage resources, including allowances and bonuses, are bundled with the base salary as "total labor cost," and various overtime allowances that continuously arise due to the nature of the corporation must be covered within this total labor cost, the base salary resources are ultimately eroded.
Labor and management continued practical negotiations until dawn, but were unable to resume the main negotiations, and talks ended in a breakdown.
Individual negotiations between management and the second union, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions Seoul Metro Integrated Union, as well as the third union, the Right Union, are still ongoing. These unions have also previously announced their intention to go on a general strike starting with the first train on this day.
As of July this year, the first union accounts for 57.4% of all union members, the highest proportion, and about 90% of train operators responsible for actual subway operations belong to it, giving the strike significant impact. The second union represents 16.4% of union members, followed by the third union with 12.6%.
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