▲ A Gyeonggi Province bus company garage
Wage and collective bargaining negotiations between management and labor for buses in Gyeonggi Province ultimately collapsed, prompting the union to file for labor dispute mediation with the local labor commission and initiate formal preparations for a strike.
The Gyeonggi Provincial Transport Workers' Union, affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, announced that it has declared the breakdown of its fifth central collective bargaining session with management and filed an application for labor dispute mediation against 29 bus companies in the province with the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission.
Following the filing, the union plans to transition its regional chapters into a general strike preparation system, issue a notice on October 15, and hold a strike authorization vote among its approximately 10,000 union members on October 23.
Furthermore, if the two sides fail to reach an agreement during the final mediation meeting scheduled for October 29—which marks the expiration of the mediation period—the union intends to launch a full-scale general strike starting with the first buses on October 30.
Previously, the union had been negotiating with management while putting forward the implementation of an existing labor-management-government agreement—which stipulated matching wages with the Seoul area starting January 1 of this year—as its core demand.
It also demanded improvements in working conditions and safety, including a reduction in working hours that amount to 1.4 times the national average, the introduction of a paid incentive system for accident-free driving, and flu vaccinations for all union members.
Meanwhile, management reportedly argued for a wage freeze on privately operated routes citing Gyeonggi Province's fiscal conditions, while failing to present a concrete wage hike proposal for semi-publicly operated routes.
Lee Gi-cheon, head of the union, stated, "Our demands are not special privileges, but rather the implementation of a promise agreed upon by labor, management, and the government, as well as the bare minimum right to protect our workplaces and the safety of provincial residents. With the united strength of our 10,000 members, we will launch an all-out struggle to achieve victory in collective bargaining."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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