Bus union, management hold 11th-hour talks as general strike looms

Seoul’s bus labor union held its final negotiations with management on Wednesday, a day ahead of its planned general strike.

Commuters wait for buses at Seoul Station Bus Transfer Center in downtown Seoul on Wednesday. Unionized intracity bus drivers and representatives of management had last-minute negotiations on the same day over wage hikes, a day before the union's planned general strike. The unionized workers were set to go on strike from 4 a.m. Thursday if an agreement was not reached by midnight Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Seoul's bus labor union held its final negotiations with management on Wednesday, a day ahead of its planned general strike.

The negotiations between the Seoul Bus Labor Union and management began at around 3 p.m. Wednesday and were still underway at the Seoul National Labor Relations Commission office in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, as of 6 p.m. the same day.

The unionized bus drivers were set to strike the following day if an agreement was not reached as of midnight Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the union of bus drivers in Seoul voted to stage a walkout at 4 a.m. Thursday after failing to agree on wage hikes with their employers and the Seoul city government over the past three months.

The strike would halt operations of 7,210 intracity buses, or 97.6 percent of the total number of buses in the capital.

Affiliated with the Korea Automobile and Transport Workers' Federation, the labor union comprises nearly 18,000 members from 65 companies.

The union has been demanding wage hikes, a revision of the salary system, and the abolition of compensation discrimination for contract workers since late December.

The unionized workers specifically requested a 12.7 percent increase in their hourly wage, which the management said was an "excessive demand," adding that the capital's intracity bus system has run in the red over the past few years.

The management said the proposed figure is too high compared to the wage hike for public officials and inflation.

As the union threatened a strike, the city government rolled out emergency plans to minimize commuter chaos during rush hours if the bus drivers stage a walkout. Subways will add 202 trains daily from Thursday and extend their hours until 2 a.m.

To manage overcrowding, the city government will deploy personnel to 17 major stations, including Jamsil Station and Seoul Station.

Free shuttle buses will also operate from major subway stations across the capital's 25 districts. The metropolitan government said it would also request companies and schools to adjust starting times by an hour in the morning.

If the strike takes place, it will become the first walkout staged by bus drivers in the capital since 2012. The partial strike in 2012 lasted for 20 minutes.

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