Seoul's city bus union said it will launch a full strike from the first bus of the day on the 16th after this year's wage and collective bargaining talks broke down.
The Seoul Bus Labor Union, affiliated with the Korean Automobile and Transport Workers' Federation, said on the 3rd that it held a meeting of branch chairs and resolved to begin a full strike from the first bus on the 16th if mediation at the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission fails.
The union held nine rounds of collective bargaining with the Seoul Bus Transport Business Association starting in March but failed to reach agreement, and filed for labor dispute mediation with the Seoul commission on the 31st of last month. The mediation period for scheduled-route passenger transport, which is designated an essential public service, is 15 days. If mediation fails during that period and requirements such as a union membership vote are met, the union can take industrial action. A first mediation session is set for the 9th, a union vote on industrial action for the 11th, and a second mediation session for the 15th.
The core dispute is over the number of hours used to calculate ordinary wages. In April this year, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling in a suit brought by workers at Donga Transport against their employer that set the basis for calculating ordinary wages at 176 hours a month. The union argues that under the ruling, ordinary wages must be calculated on the basis of 176 hours and that unpaid wages must be paid.
The union says that at the ninth round of talks on the 28th of last month, management proposed freezing wages for 2026, abolishing bonuses and holiday allowances, applying a 209-hour basis for ordinary wages retroactive to February 2025, and clawing back wages depending on the outcome of related litigation.
"Other regions operating quasi-public bus systems reflected the intent of the Supreme Court ruling, wrapped up last year's wage negotiations and then separately agreed to wage increases of around 5% this year," the union said. "Seoul's bus operators are taking in enormous profits and dividends while watching only for signals from the city government and forcing workers to give up their rights." It also criticized the Seoul Metropolitan Government, saying it "has played no role at all and continues to commit a breach of trust, draining taxpayers' money on unnecessary interest and damages."
The union also petitioned the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the same day for a special labor inspection into legal violations at each workplace. In the ongoing civil litigation, it plans to expand its claims to seek damages of up to three times the principal, in addition to the unpaid wage principal and late-payment interest.
Park Jung-gon, chairman of the union, said the 176 hours recognized by the Supreme Court is "a legitimate right and legal principle that no one can shake." He added that "if management breaks its promise to reach an agreement, the union will have no choice but to mount a powerful general strike with the united strength of all its members."
