▲ Gyeonggi Province bus depot
As wage negotiations between labor and management for buses in the Gyeonggi region remain at an impasse, concerns are growing over a potential general strike later this month.
Unlike in the past, when the provincial governor personally promised budget support to head off strikes, the severe fiscal crunch in Gyeonggi Province has left officials unable to even find a starting point for mediation.
According to the Gyeonggi Regional Chapter of the Federation of Korean Automobile & Transport Workers' Unions (hereinafter referred to as the union) on the 12th, the union plans to apply for labor dispute mediation with the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission if the 5th collective bargaining session with management falls through on the 14th.
Following a 15-day adjustment period, if the final negotiations on the 29th also collapse, the union plans to immediately launch a general strike.
A total of 29 companies and about 10,000 union members in the province are participating in these negotiations.
The core flashpoint of the current conflict is whether to implement the "January 1, 2026 Equal Pay with Seoul Buses" officially agreed upon by labor, management, and the provincial government in the past.
Gyeonggi Province stated through an official document in October 2022 that it would apply the same wage level as Seoul by 2026, and labor and management also specified through a wage agreement that the wage gap with Seoul would be narrowed by one-third each year from 2024 to 2026.
The union is demanding a raise in the 20 percent range, reflecting even the widening gap from the recent Seoul bus ordinary wage lawsuit ruling.
On the other hand, management is sticking to its position of freezing wages, citing the financial crisis of Gyeonggi Province.
The problem is that Gyeonggi Province itself has virtually no financial capacity to narrow the differences between labor and management.
Previously, Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae submitted a supplementary budget bill reflecting 546.5 billion won in expenditure restructuring, stating that "there is nothing but debt in the household ledger," but the processing of the supplementary budget has fallen through due to conflicts with the provincial assembly demanding the restoration of certain livelihood projects.
The union is strongly protesting, claiming that Gyeonggi Province and management are evading responsibility by using financial issues as an excuse.
They argue that the roughly 1 trillion won budget poured into the Gyeonggi-style quasi-public system (city bus public management system) largely functions as "transportation welfare" for residents, such as transfer discounts and discounts for the vulnerable, yet public opinion is being swayed as if this were a burden of supporting the bus industry.
The union maintains that since it has already made concessions by accepting a three-year phased increase plan, there is no alternative but a strike if even this promise is broken.
Conflicts surrounding the improvement of working conditions besides wages are also running parallel.
The union is demanding that current irregularly operated days off be guaranteed as "fixed two consecutive days off per week" in line with the purpose of introducing the quasi-public system, along with the introduction of an accident-free incentive system and flu vaccinations for all union members, but management is expressing reluctance.
In the past, former Governor Kim Dong-yeon personally visited the Labor Relations Commission negotiation site even during a period of mourning to secure the full implementation of the quasi-public system by 2027, successfully averting strikes through active provincial budget support and mediation.
However, as Gyeonggi Province is currently pleading severe financial difficulties, concerns are rising that it will not be easy to find a breakthrough through drastic financial injections as in the past.
The union plans to visit the Construction and Transportation Committee of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly on the 13th to explain the field situation and request mediation at the assembly level, but it remains uncertain whether effective solutions will emerge given the deep budgetary conflict between the province and the provincial assembly.
A union official said, "We have engaged in negotiations with plenty of time in mind considering local elections, but what came back was only a wage freeze and stalling without alternatives. If past labor-management-government promises and workers' basic safety demands are ignored, we have no choice but to enter a general strike."
(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Province, Yonhap News)
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