◀ Anchor ▶
Today, about 170 metropolitan area buses traveling between Suwon, Gyeonggi-do and Seoul were stopped.
This is because the union of the transportation company that operates the route went on a general strike, demanding that the dispatch time be adjusted.
The local government deployed charter buses to provide emergency transportation, but passengers on their way to and from work experienced inconvenience.
Reporter Cha Hyun-jin covered the story.
◀ Report ▶
In front of Suwon Station in Gyeonggi Province this morning.
About 500 workers wearing red headbands gathered.
The Gyeongjin Passenger Union, which operates 177 metropolitan buses on 14 routes from Suwon and Hwaseong to Seoul, went on a general strike.
″Bus workers are also human. Make dispatch times realistic! Make it real! Make it real! Make it real!″
They are demanding a 6% wage increase and adjustment of dispatch times.
Speed limits have been strengthened, child protection zones have increased, and local government orders such as ‘depart after passengers are seated’ have become more frequent, so the bus driver’s service cycle must be realistically extended.
[장경래/경진여객 버스기사]
″(We) have to recharge gas, clean indoors and outdoors, check teeth, and eat during break time. I don’t think we’re asking for much…
The union, which suspended operations from the first train today, plans to resume operations tomorrow morning and decide whether to extend the strike.
Local governments such as Suwon City and Hwaseong City deployed 60 charter buses today, mainly during rush hour, but it was not enough to prevent congestion.
On my way home from work, there was a long line waiting for the bus in front of Sadang Station in Seoul.
[김혜지/경기 수원시]
″Even when (the bus) came every five minutes, the line was very long. So, we waited for 30 minutes as standard, but since the strike started, it has doubled.”
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Meanwhile, the Seoul subway strike scheduled for today was canceled following an agreement between labor and management last night.
Regarding the scale of new workforce recruitment in the second half of this year, which is a key issue, the union accepted the company’s proposal of 660 people.
However, the management’s position is maintained that about 2,200 jobs must be reduced by 2026 to reduce the accumulated deficit, so the spark of conflict still remains.
This is Cha Hyun-jin from MBC News.
Video coverage: Lim Ji-su, Jeong Ji-ho / Video editing: Lee Hwa-young
2023-11-22 11:22:13
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