The Seoul city bus labor and management will hold negotiations on the 27th regarding this year's wages and collective agreements. The union previously noted that if negotiations were not completed by that day, they would strike starting with the first bus on the 28th, which prompted both sides to enter final negotiations a day early.
The Seoul city bus union stated that they planned to hold negotiations with the business association in private on that day.
The Seoul city bus labor and management have conducted a total of nine rounds of main negotiations and a second adjustment meeting for the wage negotiation on April 29, but they have not narrowed their differences.
In response, the union held a strike declaration ceremony the previous day and said they would begin the strike starting with the first bus on the 28th if negotiations were not conducted by the 27th. The union also delivered a formal letter to management the previous day stating, "Let's conduct collective negotiations at 1 p.m. on the 27th."
Initially, the business association, the Seoul City Bus Transportation Association, stated that the union's request to resume negotiations was "an unilateral matter that had not been agreed upon at the practical level." However, as the time for the anticipated strike approached, it was reported that they decided to proceed with negotiations for now.
Even if the labor and management hold negotiations that day, there are predictions that the likelihood of reaching an agreement is low due to significant differences in their positions.
The biggest point of contention between management and labor is the ordinary wage. Management claims that if they reflect regular bonuses in the ordinary wage and accept all of the union's demands for increases, there would be a 25% effect on wage increases. They are thus positioned to agree on reorganizing the wage system to lower the ordinary wage level before negotiating the wage increase rate.
On the other hand, the union contends that the ordinary wage is a worker's right confirmed by the Supreme Court's full bench ruling and is not subject to negotiation. They assert that negotiating the wage increase rate is a priority.
If the union proceeds with the strike as scheduled on the 28th, it will mark the second consecutive year. The union previously went on strike last year after wage negotiations fell through, marking the first strike in 12 years since 2012.