Talks on wages and a collective agreement between management and labor at Seoul Metro, which operates subway lines 1–8 in Seoul, broke down on the 21st. In response, the union decided to proceed with procedures for industrial action.
Seoul Metro has three unions: the first union, the Seoul Metro Labor Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU); the second union, the Seoul Metro Integrated Union under the Federation of Korean Trade Unions; and the third union, known as the MZ union, the Seoul Metro Right Labor Union. As of July this year, the first union has the most members at 9,036, followed by the second union (2,577) and the third union (1,988).
The corporation held separate main negotiations with the first, second, and third unions that day, but none reached an agreement.
This year, management and labor at the corporation remain apart over wage increases and new hiring. Management is said to hold the position that even the government guideline increase rate (3.0%) is difficult due to a lack of resources. By contrast, each union's requested wage increase rate is 5.2% for the first union, 3.4% for the second, and 3.7% for the third.
All unions are also demanding more personnel, while management maintains that staffing must be reduced.
The unions will begin the dispute mediation process. The first union plans to hold a delegates' meeting at the end of this month to resolve that a dispute has arisen and to apply for dispute mediation with the Seoul Regional Labor Relations Commission. After that, around mid-November, it plans to secure the right to strike by holding a strike authorization vote among members. The second and third unions likewise said they will take follow-up measures.