Bus drivers in Seoul, South Korea, went on strike on Thursday (March 28) after their last-ditch negotiations over a pay increase collapsed, causing commuter congestion in the city of more than 9 million people.
This is the first bus strike in Seoul in 12 years. A total of 7,210 buses in Seoul are out of service, accounting for 97.6% of the total.
According to previous reports, the Seoul Bus Union requested a 12.7% increase in hourly wages, but the employer believed that this request was “too high” compared with the price and wage increases in the past five years. In addition, the Seoul Local Labor Committee proposed a 6.1% increase mediation plan It also failed to pass, and the negotiations between the two parties ended in failure.
At around 2 a.m. on Thursday, the union announced that negotiations with the employer, Seoul Transportation Corporation, had broken down, and the strike would start at 4 a.m. that day as originally planned.
In response to the emergency, the Seoul city said that taking into account possible traffic disruptions during peak hours, the subway will extend operating hours and invest in more trains. In addition, 480 shuttle buses will be provided in 25 districts of the city to transport commuters to metro stations.
Yoon Jong-jang, director of the Seoul Metropolitan Transportation Planning Bureau, said in a statement, “We will do our best to reach a smooth agreement between the union and management as soon as possible.”
Buses in Seoul operate on a quasi-public system, with private companies managing the buses while being heavily subsidized and regulated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to ensure accessibility of services.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon called for a compromise as soon as possible, saying, “City buses are the legs of citizens, and their livelihoods and daily lives completely depend on buses.”
Meanwhile, a doctors’ strike is intensifying in South Korea, where thousands of trainee doctors have left their jobs to protest against government plans to increase medical school enrollment.
Critics say authorities should prioritize improving working conditions for trainee doctors, while the government says the plan will effectively address a shortage of doctors in South Korea, one of the world’s fastest-aging countries.
(Source of article: Financial Associated Press)
Source of article: Financial Associated Press
Original title: Nearly 98% of buses in Seoul are “paralyzed”!Union wage negotiations fail, triggering new wave of strikes
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2024-03-28 06:51:17
