ULSAN — Ulsan's city bus union, deadlocked in this year's wage talks, has approved a strike by an overwhelming margin and moved toward a full walkout. If a final mediation session set for the 27th fails to reach a deal, all city bus service in the region will stop from the first buses on the 28th.
The strike proposal passed with 95.71% in favor in a vote held the previous day, the Ulsan regional bus union under the Federation of Korean Automobile Workers' Unions said on the 26th. Of 1,691 members, 1,491 took part in the vote — an 88.17% turnout — and 1,427 of them voted in favor. The Ulsan city bus union is made up of the unions at six local bus operators: Ulsan Yeogaek, Namsung Yeogaek, Hanseong Traffic, Yujin Bus, Hakseong Bus and Daewoo Yeogaek.
With the strike vote approved, the union will gain the legal right to strike depending on the outcome of the final mediation session at the Ulsan Regional Labor Relations Commission on the 27th. If the commission fails to narrow the gap between the two sides and issues a decision to suspend mediation, the union plans to halt service across the board from the first buses on the 28th.
The two sides began their first round of talks on Jan. 27 this year and held a total of seven rounds through Aug. 12 without reaching a deal. The union is demanding a 9% increase in the base hourly wage, an extension of the retirement age from 63 to 65, and a resolution of unfunded retirement pay. Management, meanwhile, is holding firm to an offer of a 2% increase in the base hourly wage.
If the strike goes ahead, all 709 city buses operating on 108 routes in the Ulsan region will come to a standstill. Ulsan has no subway or other alternative urban rail network, so a halt in bus service is expected to inevitably disrupt residents' commutes to work and school.
The city of Ulsan will activate an emergency transport response headquarters in preparation for the strike. It plans to minimize inconvenience to residents by urgently leasing and deploying 90 vehicles, including charter buses, on 27 major routes.
