The Seoul city bus labor union sent a formal letter to the management on the 26th, urging the resumption of wage and collective agreement negotiations for this year. The union had warned of a strike starting from the first bus on the 28th after the final negotiation breakdown, requesting the resumption of negotiations two days prior. In response, the management stated that it was just a unilateral announcement.
The National Automobile Workers' Union Seoul Bus branch announced that it sent a formal letter titled 'Request for earnest negotiations' to the Seoul Bus Transport Business Association under the name of Chairperson Park Jeom-gon this morning.
In the letter, the union said, "Our union requested the resumption of collective negotiations on the 19th through a formal letter to renew the collective agreement and wage agreement for 2025, but we have not received a response from the business association, so we request again the resumption of collective negotiations."
The union suggested the time for negotiations as 1 p.m. on the 27th.
Regarding the purpose of the negotiations, the union said, "Let's adjust between the management's initial wage increase demand of 0% and the union's initial demand of 8.2%." Moreover, the union added, "Let's also discuss issues related to the collective agreement such as extension of the retirement age, wage discrimination for newly hired (re-hired) employees, and discipline resulting from covert inspections."
In response, the management stated, "The negotiation schedule that the union disclosed to the media is a unilateral announcement that was never mentioned even during discussions among the persons responsible for practical matters," adding, "The main negotiations will proceed once a clear direction for issues such as the wage system reform is established."
Meanwhile, the union will hold a strike opening ceremony in front of the Transportation Hall this afternoon. If the negotiations with the management ultimately break down, there are plans to initiate a simultaneous nationwide strike starting from the first bus on the 28th.