Subway cars packed, nerves frayed as union goes on strike

Seoul subway workers went on a two-day strike Thursday, protesting the subway operator’s plan to lay off workers.

Commuters fill the platform of Sadang Station on subway line No. 2 in southern Seoul on Thursday morning, the first day the labor union of Seoul Metro went on strike. Due to the walkout, the operation rate of the subway in the capital will drop to 82 percent of capacity during non-rush hours. [NEWS1]

Seoul subway workers went on a two-day strike Thursday, protesting the subway operator’s plan to lay off workers.

Commuters in the capital faced little trouble during morning rush hours as the labor unions agreed to operate subways at full capacity from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. before the strike.

But in the afternoon, passengers complained about the inconveniences brought by fewer trains.

The general strike was organized by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the largest labor union of the capital’s subway operator Seoul Metro. The company operates subway lines No. 1 to 8.

Members of the second-largest union, the Federation of Korea Trade Union (FKTU), dropped out of the strike at the last minute.

The third union, called Allbaleun, which does not have the authority to negotiate with the company, said it would not join the walkout late last month.

Some 10,146 of Seoul Metro's workers are affiliated with the KCTU, 2,742 are affiliated with the FKTU and 1,915 with Allbaleun.

“We are not here to fight for our wage, but for the people’s safety,” Myung Soon-pil, the head of the labor union, said near City Hall in central Seoul on Thursday, stressing that the company’s downsizing plan will not protect the people.

The strike was announced on Wednesday night following the breakdown of negotiations between the company and the union despite conducting 10 rounds of discussions since July.

The workers on strike criticized the operator and the city government for refusing to withdraw their plans to cut employees and outsource safety personnel.

Seoul Metro announced it would reduce its employees by 13.5 percent, or 2,212 people, by 2026.

The union added the two refused even to hire 276 employees to replace those expected to retire by the end of the year.

Members of Seoul Metro's labor union protest against the subway operator's plan to lay off workers and ask for new employment near City Hall in central Seoul on Thursday. The union staged a two-day walkout on the same day, which will reduce the operation rate of the subway to 82 percent of full capacity during non-rush hours. [NEWS1]

Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday urged unionized workers to call off the strike, expressing its regrets over the “groundless” walkout.

According to the city government, Seoul Metro and its labor union failed to reach an agreement despite the operator agreeing to hire a necessary number of employees to ensure safety because the union demanded even more hiring.

The city government also stressed that its plan to cut employees is not a forceful restructuring, as the union claims, but a plan to “efficiently” manage the employee quota depending on the number of people who quit per different experience levels.

The metropolitan government said the plan is inevitable due to Seoul Metro’s snowballing deficit.

The accumulated debt of Seoul subways is anticipated to hit 18.4 trillion won ($14 billion) this year, with a net loss of 780 billion won.

As the strike was launched Thursday, Seoul Metro said it would scrap every negotiation they had on the table and postpone the employment of new hires scheduled in the second half of the year.

During the two-day strike, subways will operate normally during morning rush hours.

However, the operation rate will drop to 87 percent of capacity during evening rush hours from 6 to 8 p.m. Operations will plunge to 82 percent of capacity for the rest of the day.

“The subway was packed compared to other days,” a 21-year-old university student who took subway line No. 3 at Express Bus Terminal Station in southern Seoul at around 9:20 a.m. told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

“I always take the same subway car on my way to school, and today, I was squeezed in the train, which is usually not the case,” she added, concerned about her return home later in the day.

Seoul Metro dispatched seven subways in case of emergencies and added five trains to subway line No. 2. The city government increased alternative transportation options, such as buses, in the morning and afternoon.

The two-day strike on Thursday marks the second consecutive year the union staged a walkout. The strike on Nov. 30 last year lasted only a day as the subway operator and its labor union reached an agreement.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]