Seoul's city bus union sets 9 p.m. Tuesday deadline for strike

Seoul's city bus workers announced on Tuesday that they will continue negotiations until 9 p.m., at which point they will initiate a general strike the following morning if no agreement is reached. The dispute centers on determining the hourly wage rate, with the union requesting to include bonuses in ordinary wages and proposing a 7.85% wage increase.

The bus companies and Seoul city government have rejected this demand, asserting that the proposed calculation would equate to an approximate 16% increase in wages. Union deputy secretary-general Yoo Jae-ho stated that while the union is not demanding the exact 7.85% rise, they are prepared to reach a compromise if they can accept the 176 monthly work hour standard.

Some other regions have implemented wage increases of over 5%, which the union uses as a benchmark to narrow the gap. The union emphasized that they are not striking solely because they cannot lower the rate by a minimal percentage point. They also refuted the management's claim that accepting the union's demands would elevate bus drivers' annual salaries to 85 million won (US$62,500), asserting that their average annual salary is estimated at 59 million won for this year.

Seoul city buses, as well as those in other major cities nationwide, are operated under a semi-public management system, with bus companies responsible for operations and municipal governments covering losses. The Seoul government estimates that a 1% wage increase would add around 14 billion won to annual costs, with all of the union's demands potentially doubling the city bus system's annual deficit to approximately 1 trillion won.